Did you know baseball umpires have the authority to eject unruly fans?
Well, they do -- apparently.
During Tuesday's game in Philadelphia between the Phillies and the Giants, home plate umpire Bob Davidson tossed a fan from the stadium after the fan repeatedly used inappropriate language, including a "sexual innuendo," according to philly.com.
"That's when I turned around and said, 'You know what, get rid of this guy,' Davidson said after the game, according to philly.com. "You could have your wife, girlfriend, kids -- they buy tickets. They don't have to come here and listen to that."
But is there an actual MLB rule that states umpires can eject fans?
"Umpires are entrusted with maintaining discipline and order on the playing field, and sometimes fans can interfere with order on the field," according to Tom Lepperd, director of MLB umpire administration. "Security at the Major League level normally precludes the necessity of an umpire causing a fan to be removed, but this does happen on rare occasion."
It should be noted that the fan was not officially ejected from the game, according to Philly.com. Instead, the fan simply chose not to return to his seat after being escorted away by security.
Either way, it was one of those rare moments in which an umpire received applause from fans.
"People cheered me, which is unusual in this town for me," he said.
