Minor League Umpire Ejects Ballpark Music Guy For Playing "Three Blind Mice"

If there's one thing umpires love more than ejecting players, it's ejecting non-players. That goes for managers but also fans, mascots, and other ballpark patrons. Tommy Lasorda once complained to umpire Bob Davidson that Youppi!, the Montreal Expos mascot, was jumping up and down on his dugout. (Davidson promptly ejected Youppi! from the game, an incident that Lasorda himself fully acknowledges.) Now, we get word that a minor league umpire in Daytona ejected the music supervisor for the Cubs' high-A farm club because he's apparently incapable of being good-humored about anything that might seem to reflect on his shoddy job performance.

Here's a statement released a short time ago on the Daytona Cubs Facebook page:

We've just entered the twilight zone at Jackie Robinson Ballpark. Our music man, Derek Dye, has been EJECTED from tonight's game. The umpire, Mario Seneca, was apparently not happy when Derek played "Three Blind Mice" after a questionable call. With no music system, a fan has stepped up to call out player introductions from the stands.

On his Facebook profile, Seneca is listed as a vice president of the Association of Minor League Umpires. Dye, for his part, wryly acknowledged the ejection minutes after it happened.

Dye is a Cubs intern and University of Illinois student, and he was shocked when his playing of "Three Blind Mice" incurred Seneca's wrath:

Seneca wheeled, pointed to Dye in the press box and shouted, "You're done!" Ditto for the Cubs' public-address announcer.

"Turn the sound off for the rest of the night," Seneca could be heard yelling during the Cubs' broadcast.

Dye said Seneca initially had trouble spotting him in the press area.

"I thought it was me though; I knew it was my fault," he said. "I didn't think he'd get angry. I just started laughing. I was shocked. Disbelief."

Daytona's PA announcer sat silently at his desk, while Dye was stunned.

"I think it's a pretty popular children's fable," Dye said. "He's umpiring the game tomorrow, so I don't think I'll be playing it anytime soon."

Umpire Ejects Music Man In Daytona For Playing "Three Blind Mice" [Baseball America]