Normally, Atlanta Braves manager Brian Snitker is anything but a blowhard when it comes to dealing with umpires. He will ask questions of them and defend his players if needed, but he is far from the model that Bobby Cox established where being willing to be thrown out of any game is just part of the job. However, even Snitker was over how silly umpires acted on Tuesday night.
Normally, beefs with umpires have to do with calling balls and strikes and occasionally with rulings on the field, although the latter happens less these days with the use of video replay. However, Snit's issue was with the umpiring crew against the Nationals forcing Rafael Montero to change the glove he was wearing (the same one he has been wearing all year) because it was....two-toned?
Even Brian Snitker thinks that MLB umpires have lost the plot
Now, having a two-toned glove is technically against the rules, but it is more nuanced than that. The rule is designed to prevent two-toned gloves where one of the colors is white or grey because it can make it difficult and/or distracting for hitters trying to pick up the ball out of pitchers' hands. Basically, if the two tones are too contrasting or includes white or grey, it is a no-go.
Montero's glove which, again, is the same one he has used all season long is brown with an accent of black. That's it. Why the umpires in this game decided to go with draconian enforcement of this rule all of a sudden is beyond everyone, including Snitker who said after the game, "evidently, after two months, they're going to start cracking down on gloves that nobody pays any attention to."
Is there a chance that the umpire's inspection was instigated by some gamesmanship from Nationals manager Dave Martinez, but that feels unlikely. With umpires under siege for numerous blown calls, a smaller buffer zone for their mistakes these days, and the impending arrival of the ABS challenge system, this almost feels like umpires trying to justify their own existence. Anyone who has actually watched Montero pitch this season (or the last couple really) would agree that he isn't gaining any competitive advantage from having a brown and black glove nor would any hitter likely say so.
Now, is Brian Snitker a perfect manager? No, he makes mistakes like all big league managers do. However, when it comes to the nitpicky call against Montero on Tuesday night and the umpires' justification for it, he is absolutely spot on.