The big topic after the Atlanta Braves' close 5-4 loss to the Yankees on Saturday was the legitimacy of the balk call against Chris Sale that proved to be very important in the outcome of the game. Crew chief Dan Bellino maintained that Sale failed to declare whether or not he was going to pitch out of the windup, and once a leg twitch was seen, home plate umpire called the run-scoring balk. Both Sale and manager Walt Weiss maintained that Sale had not once declared such an intention in his 16 years in the league and that the umpires erred in so stringently enforcing the rule for hybrid pitchers.
Well, Weiss got his money's worth and ended up getting ejected, but most thought that that (plus some salty post-game comments) would be the end of it. That proved to be incorrect, because not only was Sale still pissed about the call as the series finale was about to get started, but he ended up getting ejected from the bench after saying his piece to Bellino.
Chris Sale was ejected before the start of today's Braves-Yankees game after voicing his frustration over yesterday's balk call.
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) August 9, 2026
The BravesVision broadcast showed Sale making his case today.pic.twitter.com/fYm0O7UZGv https://t.co/tB8TmX791d
Chris Sale just got ejected against the Yankees for expressing his displeasure over balk call from Saturday's game
You don't REALLY see players getting ejected from the bench much these days, especially with some of the more thin-skinned umpires out there like Joe West and Angel Hernandez retiring. However, it was clear before the game that Sale was not satisfied with the explanation he had been given regarding the balk call and had strong words for the umpiring crew. He was promptly ejected, but it was a formality, as there was zero chance Sale would pitch on Sunday anyway.
This is a pretty clear case of a rule existing, but it isn't one that is widely enforced and, frankly, games would get pretty tedious if the letter of the law were common practice. Only the home plate umpire can say why he decided that he was going to be the first guy to call a balk on Sale for the practice, but there was zero chance that Bellino was going to do anything else but stand up for his umpire.
At the end of the day, umpires are becoming less and less relevant, and we can expect more and more ump shows from those that want to have the same influence they once had before the installation of the ABS challenge system. We don't know of Sale having any history with Bellino, the home plate umpire, or any umpire in general. However, we do know that a few years ago Bellino was disciplined and had to apologize for an interaction with Madison Bumgarner that resulted in his ejection, so it isn't like he has shied away from picking fights with players in the past.
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