Umpires across MLB wear white wristbands in protest

Fans watching Major League Baseball games on Saturday may have noticed something unusual.

Umpires across the league were wearing white wristbands, in sharp contrast to their usual dark-colored uniforms.

The wristbands are a form of silent protest of “escalating attacks on umpires,” according to a statement from the World Umpires Association, which represents MLB umpires.

There have been some bad feelings between players and umpires in August.

Earlier this month, umpire Joe West was suspended for calling Texas Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre the biggest complainer in baseball.

On Monday, Detroit Tiger Ian Kinsler was ejected from a game in Texas for arguing balls and strikes, and he unloaded on umpire Angel Hernandez the following day.

Chris McCosky of the Detroit News asked Kinsler if he was surprised at the quickness of the ejection.

“No, I’m surprised at how bad an umpire he is,” Kinsler told McCosky. “I don’t know how, for as many years he’s been in the league, that he can be that bad. He needs to re-evaluate his career choic. He really does. Bottom line.”

Kinsler on Friday said he was fined for the comments, but the World Umpires Association apparently wanted a suspension.

Here is the entire statement from the World Umpires Association:

“This week, a player publicly and harshly impugned the character and integrity of Angel Hernandez — a veteran umpire who has dedicated his career to baseball and the community. The verbal attack on Angel denigrated the entire MLB umpiring staff and is unacceptable.

“The Office of the Commissioner has failed to address this and other escalating attacks on umpires. The player denigrated Hernandez publicly said he thought he would be suspended. Instead got far more lenient treatment — a fine. He shrugged that off and told reporters that he has ‘no regrets’ about his offensive statements calling for an end to Hernandez’s career.

“The Office of the Commissioner’s lenient treatment to abusive player behavior sends the wrong message to players and managers. It’s ‘open season’ on umpires, and that’s bad for the game.

“Major League umpires hold themselves to high standards. We are held accountable for our performance at every game. Our most important duty is to protect the integrity of the game, and we will continue to do that job every day. But the Office of the Commissioner must protect our integrity when we are unfairly attacked simply for doing our jobs.

“Enough is enough. Umpires will wear the wristbands until our concerns are taken seriously by Office of the Commissioner.”

This story was originally published August 19, 2017 at 7:29 PM with the headline "Umpires across MLB wear white wristbands in protest."