During Wednesday's Great Lakes regional finals game, with a trip to the Little League World Series on the line, Team Kentucky assistant coach Matthew Teague was ejected by the home plate umpire.Down 6-0 in the top of the 4th and running out of time for a comeback, Teague was seen meeting with one of his hitters and turning his attention to the umpire who had just called out a Kentucky hitter on a tough strike three call for the second out.IDAHO TEEN UMPIRE DELIVERS ULTIMATE REALITY CHECK TO COACH COMPLAINING ABOUT WALK-UP MUSIC"Oh boy, Matthew Teague has (been) ejected from the game," the ESPN announcer said while adding that the umpire warned Teague not to come closer to the batter's box.Were there words exchanged between Teague and the umpire? If so, ESPN didn't let fans hear what was said.The network failed to play the audio from Teague, who was mic'd up.According to Little League observers on Facebook, coaches "receive a blanket warning" at the start of tournaments that there is a zero tolerance policy on arguing with umpires.
Add in the fact that coaches are mic'd up and it's extremely rare for a Little League coach to be ejected from the World Series or regional tournaments.A general view before the game between Mountain Region and Metro Region at Howard J.Lamade Stadium in Williamsport, Pa., on Aug.
23, 2025.(IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)In the Little League rule book, Rule 9.02(b) states: If a manager believes a decision conflicts with the written rules (a misapplication of a rule, not a judgment call), the manager may request "Time." Once the home plate umpire grants time, the manager (and only the head manager) may approach the umpire who made the call to politely ask for clarification or appeal.SIGN UP TO GET THE LATEST SPORTS NEWSBased on the ejection, the umpire seems to have applied this exact rule to give Teague the boot.
How did fans react online? About as you'd expect.It was a mixed bag of people arguing it was soft to kick the coach out of ...