MILWAUKEE -- Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez wants Major League Baseball to define the check swing.
In the fourth inning of the Dodgers' 7-0 loss to the Brewers on Wednesday, Gonzalez struck out on an 0-2 check swing called by plate umpire Toby Basner. Gonzalez had a check swing on the previous pitch, with Basner asking for help from third-base umpire Dan Bellino, who called a strike.
As he walked back to the dugout, Gonzalez said he gestured to Bellino that the call by Basner was a swing but call by Bellino was not.
"I didn't say a word," said Gonzalez, ejected for the fifth time in his career. "I gestured it. First time in my career I got tossed without saying a word and while walking back to the dugout.
"The check swing itself, I don't have a problem with him calling it. My problem is how it's interpreted different by every single umpire. It needs to be black and white and not gray. Every umpire calls it a different way. One guy takes a full hack and it's no swing, another guy barely moves and they call it a swing. It's something I feel needs to be addressed by whoever is in charge and put in words."
The rules state that the umpire decides whether a batter swings, but what constitutes a swing is not defined.