It must be one of the more unusual sports decisions ever made. No athlete was ejected but instead a DJ at Jackie Robinson Ballpark was tossed from the game by umpire Mario Seneca. Evidently, he objected to hearing “Three Blind Mice” played by DJ Derek Dye after the ump made a questionable call the play before.
CBS Sports describes the play: 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.
Then Dye went to play the nursery rhyme – a pre-recorded instrumental organ version – and only a few notes were heard before the ump immediately pointed upstairs and made the well-recognized “You’re outta here!” gesture. Dye immediately left the game, and then later tweeted: If nothing else, I have a new pick-up line… “Hey, my name’s Derek and I’ve been ejected from a pro baseball game.” It’s bulletproof.
Seneca also ordered no more music to be played for the rest of the game. A fan in the stands volunteered to read player introductions.
Yahoo Sports writes Seneca doesn’t regret his decision. 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.”
This wasn’t the first time “Three Blind Mice” rankled umps so deeply they booted a DJ. CBS writes, “In 1985 then-Clearwater Phillies organist Wilbur Snapp was ejected for playing the same song.”
