Pirates vs. Reds rain fiasco fuels fiery Don Kelly ejection as umpires still ignore reality

Don Kelly was ejected Sunday for pointing out what everyone at Great American Ball Park could plainly see: The field was not safe, the rain was not stopping, and the situation had become completely absurd.

In the top of the fourth inning of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ game against the Cincinnati Reds, rain began falling hard enough to force a pause for field maintenance. Yet instead of ordering a delay and bringing out the tarp, the umpiring crew allowed the grounds crew to wage a losing battle against the weather.

Bag after bag of drying agent was dumped onto the field. When the normal supply ran out, more bags were brought in from beyond the bullpen. Standing water remained. A stream continued flowing down the third-base line. The rain kept coming. Nothing meaningfully improved.

It was a real-time exercise in futility, with the grounds crew repeatedly covering water with dirt while more water fell from the sky. After approximately 25 minutes of this, players were eventually sent back onto the field despite the lingering puddles and soaked surface.

Kelly had every right to be furious. The Pirates manager argued that the conditions were unsafe for his players. For voicing that obvious concern, he was thrown out of the game. The umpires punished Kelly while continuing to ignore the much larger problem directly beneath their feet.

Don Kelly's fiery Pirates ejection vs Reds should send message to MLB

This was not a situation in which postponement would have created a logistical nightmare. The Reds are off Monday. The Pirates only have to travel from Cincinnati to Milwaukee. There was no compelling scheduling reason to rush through dangerous conditions rather than implement a proper rain delay and allow the field to become playable.

The Pirates were already trailing 7-1 after another poor start from Mitch Keller, but the score should have been irrelevant. Player safety does not suddenly become negotiable because one team is losing badly.

Kelly wasn't trying to manufacture an advantage or distract from his team’s performance. He was advocating for the people under his responsibility. Wet bases, muddy dirt and standing water create legitimate risks for players running, sliding, pitching and changing direction. Meanwhile, the game’s decision-makers appeared more interested in forcing the contest forward than acknowledging reality.

Kelly’s ejection was heated, but it was also justified. His reaction wasn't nearly as embarrassing as the series of decisions that made his reaction necessary.

The rain kept falling. The puddles remained. The drying agent piled up. And somehow, the person who got removed from the field was the one making the most sense.

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