Fast forward to Wednesday night, and Hohn was once again behind the plate for a game involving the Braves. Apparently Brian McCann was up to bat, with no outs and Chipper (whom had just been walked on four straight pitches) on first base. Marlins reliever Dan Meyer threw a pitch to McCann that the Braves catcher thought was a ball, yet Hohn called it a strike. McCann went on to ground into a double play, on a pitch that he would have been taking on had the count been 3 – 0 at the time instead of 2 – 1.
McCann then went into the clubhouse and watched a replay of the pitch. Upon returning to the field before the start of the bottom of the eighth inning, McCann asked Hohn if he would admit that he missed that pitch. Hohn responded in the only way he seems to know how, by ejecting McCann (it is an immediate ejection for arguing balls and strikes, but it is not like he tried to show up the ump during the at-bat).
Bobby Cox then got ejected as well, because Hohn said he heard something from the dugout, and was going to eject someone. In typical Bobby Cox fashion, Bobby told him to eject him instead. Hohn obviously obliged.
The disturbing, and perhaps most telling, part of this story did not happen until the game was over, however. After Nate McLouth struck out to end the game, Hohn and Marlins catcher John Baker did a fist bump. You read that right. The ump and the catcher of the team that had just won a game that had questionable balls and strikes called throughout gave each other props when it was over.
While I am not one for whining about the umpires, I do have to say that this is pretty fishy. Not only is it fishy, but as far as we know it is unprecedented. I have never heard of a player and an ump doing this before, or even shaking hands after a game. So the question has to be asked, does Bill Hohn have it out for Atlanta?
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