SEATTLE (AP) — Cincinnati Reds pitcher Caleb Ferguson stepped up Tuesday to take responsibility for a verbal attack on umpire Bill Miller that spread rapidly across social media following Monday night’s game.
Speaking before Tuesday’s contest against the Seattle Mariners, Ferguson described his behavior as “unprofessional” and said he regretted the way he aired his frustrations at Miller. The confrontation came after a rough stretch of play — Cal Raleigh had just launched a grand slam off Ferguson to push the score to 7-0, and shortly after that, Miller found himself in the path of Reds second baseman Edwin Arroyo on a single by Victor Robles. The Mariners ultimately won the game 8-0.
When reporters asked Ferguson about the incident after Monday’s game, he simply said, “You have to ask Bill,” gesturing toward the umpire before walking away. But video clips posted to social media made it evident that Ferguson had directed insults at Miller during the game.
On Tuesday, Ferguson spoke more openly about what happened. “As long as I’ve been in this game, I don’t think you’ll find a clip of me going at an umpire like that,” he said. “I’ll wear that on the chest, seek Bill out and definitely make it right with him. Very unprofessional on my part. I’ve got to be better.”
Reds manager Terry Francona was also asked Monday about Miller’s positioning on the field. He deflected, saying those questions should go to the umpire himself. “I don’t know,” Francona said. “I don’t ever look up and think, well, where should an umpire be? That’s on them. It’s discouraging that it happened.”
By Tuesday, Ferguson had taken a noticeably calmer tone. He said he wished he had seen the videos sooner and expressed regret that he hadn’t reached out to Miller earlier to apologize.
“It’s just a very unprofessional thing on my part,” Ferguson said. “I know these things happen within the game. But I don’t like that I was kind of the centerpiece of this.”
