3. Brad Ausmus strips at home plate
One of the biggest complaints about Brad Ausmus is his lack of emotion during games. On May 16 in a game against the Minnesota Twins, Ausmus showed that he really does care. He was seriously angered by the umpire, Doug Eddings, and his strike calls against Nick Castellanos. Prior to Castellanos called strikes, other Tigers returned to the dugout complaining about Eddings’ strike zone.
As Castellanos walked back to the dugout in the fourth inning, Ausmus made his way back out. The reserved skipper was anything but. Eddings was hit with a barrage of swears accompanied by spittle-covered several shells of sunflower seeds. But, that wasn’t enough for Ausmus. He continued his tirade by removing his hat and his sweatshirt. Ausmus then used the sweatshirt to cover up home plate because Eddings couldn’t see it anyway.
Many people questioned whether or not the moment was staged. It did endear the fans to Ausmus, even if only for a short time. The sweatshirt was auctioned off for $5010 with the money going to the Detroit Tigers Foundation.