Astros reliever Ryne Stanek was called for a balk, the first of his career and a...
Ryne Stanek of the Houston Astros reacts to a balk call from second base umpire Junior Valentine, not pictured, allowing the Los Angeles Dodgers' Jonny Deluca to score an eighth-inning run at Dodger Stadium on Saturday, June 24, 2023, in Los Angeles. LOS ANGELES — Ryne Stanek was in disbelief. He turned to second base umpire Junior Valentine wearing a look of confusion that converted quickly to anger.
Valentine, standing on the infield grass, called the balk immediately. Stanek turned with arms outraised and walked toward the umpire. An amateur lipreader could discern his argument – that he had stepped off the mound legally. Valentine responded Stanek had bent his leg before disengaging from the rubber.
“I wholeheartedly disagree,” Stanek said afterward. “He said I moved my knee. Which, I mean, as you’re standing, you have to move your knee to step off the rubber. So I thought that was an interesting reason to give, especially in a situation like that where a balk is intentionally trying to deceive the runner. Which at what point was I trying to deceive a runner? I hadn’t even come set yet. I was literally not even in that process of coming set. I literally was just stepping backwards.
Stanek finished the eighth inning then turned and yelled at Valentine before leaving the field. Valentine ejected him. Astros manager Dusty Baker emerged from the dugout to talk to home plate umpire Manny Gonzalez. Baker was also ejected. Baker said afterward he sought an explanation from the umpires on the field to no avail.
“Junior called it, and then he walks away out to center field,” Baker said. “He told me don’t go out there. And I was like, wait a minute, I need some kind of explanation because Stanek was going ballistic on it.It didn’t have to decide the game. Stanek was summoned to try to defuse a mess he didn’t create. The Astros bullpen inherited a 7-3 lead after six innings and faltered.
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