Umpire Laz Diaz now joins the growing list of baseball umpires who act in a petty manner when upset. After Yankees catcher Russell Martin argued a ball/strike call early in the game, home plate umpire Laz Diaz refused to hand new baseballs to Martin after foul balls, and instead threw them to the pitcher directly.

“He said that it was a privilege that I had to earn, for me to throw the ball back,” said the catcher, a seven-year veteran and three-time All Star. “That’s never happened to me before. I even told him, because there’s guys on base, I like to keep my arm loose. Nope. ‘I’m not letting you throw the ball back.’ That’s pretty strange, to me. That’s a good story, huh?”

Martin also shouted that Laz Diaz was a d*** as he entered the clubhouse following the game.

Now, this little feud is on the three year old level from both Diaz and Martin, but unlike, say, calling a strike on a clear ball after the batter is halfway down the line, this one doesn’t have any impact on the game other than pissing Martin off. Diaz withheld throws to the pitcher like I withhold cookies. Martin, I’m sure, was way worse off by just throwing balls back to the pitcher after caught pitches, and missing out on those precious foul ball returns. Sounds like these two just need to figure it out on their own. A nap might be in order.

[photo via US Presswire]