Seattle Mariners left-hander Robbie Ray and Kansas City Royals righty reliever Luke Weaver were both ejected prior to the start of Sunday's game after competing in a lengthy "standoff" following the completion of the national anthem.
Ray and Weaver, who used to be teammates with the Arizona Diamondbacks, engaged in some theatrics as they both refused to return to their respective dugouts after the anthem. Their game of chicken saw them get toweled down and delivered water by their teammates. The deadlock delayed the afternoon's first pitch by several minutes and was caught on camera. Press play below and enjoy:
As you can see, the umpiring crew grew impatient with Ray and Weaver's displays of civil disobedience, demanding they quit goofing around and that they leave the field so that the contest could begin. Evidently Ray and Weaver waited too long to acquiesce, resulting in both being ejected from the game.
For those wondering, Ray was the "winner," a fact that the Mariners celebrated on their official Twitter account. Take a look:
Ray, for his part, was not scheduled to partake in Sunday's game regardless of his ejection. The Mariners are instead starting right-hander Luis Castillo, who signed a long-term extension to remain in town on Saturday. Ray had most recently pitched on Wednesday, putting him in line to appear again on Tuesday. The Mariners have Monday off before beginning a series at home against the Texas Rangers.
Weaver, meanwhile, has not pitched since last Sunday. Seeing as how he's the only Royals reliever to not appear in a game this week -- a development that likely has as much to do with his below-average production this season as anything -- it's reasonable to think that he may have been in line for action at some point on Sunday. Oh well.