Major League Baseball managers are frequently ejected from games by umpires for passionately defending their players, arguing subjective ball-and-strike calls, or protesting controversial safe-and-out rulings on the basepaths. Whenever a Pittsburgh Pirates manager gets tossed from a contest, it is typically the culmination of heated verbal arguments stemming from frustration over officiating decisions, designed to spark an emotional fire under the team or protect players from disciplinary trouble during high-stakes divisional games.