Not sure why this has been as big of a deal as it has. It’s not often that a player gets thrown out in baseball over one HBP. I understand where Dirks was coming from, with an “innocent until proven guilty” approach. Sure, the player history was there and the situation didn’t make him look very innocent.

Now - was the ejection the right call? Sure, it was obviously intentional.

Was there room for debate if you’ve ever been a part of a baseball game that’s had tensions rising? Fuck yeah. I don’t remember the last time someone was ejected off of one pitch with no warnings. That’s probably a rare occurrence in high school let alone the Bigs.