Taking Mike Napoli at his word, this ranks as one of the oddest pretexts for an ejection ever. The Boston Red Sox first baseman, who was called out on strikes in the second inning and told plate umpire Tripp Gibson he disagreed with the call, was walking away from the plate when Gibson threw him out. The reason? According to Napoli, Gibson tossed him because he didn't pick up his bat and tote it back to the dugout. "First of all, it was a ball,'' said Napoli, who took a 3-and-2 slider from Tampa Bay Rays starter Chris Archer that he believed was outside, but Gibson thought otherwise. "I thought I walked. That's why I dropped my bat. And I had a conversation with him, told him I thought it was a ball. He said it was a good pitch, so I started taking off my batting gloves and started walking back toward the dugout.'' Napoli had only taken a step or two when the umpire stopped him. - See more at: http://espn.go.com/boston/mlb/story...e-umpire-tripp-gibson-ejected-not-picking-bat
