Umpire tosses music intern in Daytona – ‘Three Blind Mice’ prompts ejection
By Danny Wild /MLB.com
Cubs staffers Janelle Yonkovitch, Erin Killian and Clint Clure rally the crowd. (Daytona Cubs)
For Daytona Cubs intern deejay Derek Dye, it was nothing more than a nursery rhyme. For home plate umpire Mario Seneca, it crossed the line.
A bizarre scene unfolded Wednesday night when Seneca ejected Dye for playing “Three Blind Mice” on the sound system at Daytona’s Jackie Robinson Ballpark.
“I thought at first when he yelled, ‘You’re gone,’ he was talking to me,” Daytona manager Brian Harper said. “That was pretty fun.”
Nothing was funny for Seneca. After a questionable play at first base, Harper argued the call with infield umpire Ramon Hernandez. Daytona first baseman Taylor Davis appeared to pick a ball in the dirt thrown by shortstop Tim Saunders, but it came out of his glove when he turned to toss it around the infield. Hernandez ruled Davis had bobbled the ball rather than dropping it on the transfer and declared Fort Myers’ Andy Leer safe.
Dye, a Cubs intern from the University of Illinois, fired up one of his new music clips — an organ version of “Three Blind Mice,” the well-known English nursery rhyme about visually impaired rodents getting into a scuffle with a farmer’s wife.
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.”
On his Facebook page, Seneca posted, “The good news is that I called my league president afterwards, and he said I did the correct thing. His opinion is pretty much the only one that matters, since he’s my boss.”
The rules back up Seneca’s interpretation, since it’s stated that audio (music, organists, etc.) “may not be played in a manner that may incite spectators to react in a negative fashion to an umpires’ decision.”
