Dan Wilson, manager of the Seattle Mariners, was ejected on May 17 during the team’s 7-4 loss to the San Diego Padres after expressing frustration over two check-swing calls in a key fourth inning. The incident marked Wilson’s first ejection of the 2026 season.
The situation arose when first-base umpire Chad Fairchild ruled in favor of the Padres on two close check-swing appeals during Logan Gilbert’s pitching. The first call allowed Miguel Andujar to continue his at-bat and drive in a run, while the second involved Ramón Laureano. Video replay showed that Laureano appeared to have swung, but Fairchild did not rule it as such.
Wilson voiced his frustration from the dugout and was subsequently ejected by Fairchild. “He just didn’t like the way I reacted, and that’s just kind of the way it went,” Wilson said following his removal from the game. “It was just a frustrating moment.” He added, “It was a frustrating situation for me, and you want so badly to get the strike there, and it just didn’t happen.”
Gilbert struggled in that inning after issuing back-to-back walks before giving up an RBI single and then a three-run home run to Nick Castellanos on the next pitch. Gilbert ultimately allowed seven earned runs across his outing—a rare occurrence over his six-year career.
Reflecting on his performance, Gilbert said: “The home runs weren’t the bad part. It was the two walks before that, that was the worst part. I don’t really care about a first-pitch home run… So, really, the worst thing you can fall into right there is just walking people.”
Wilson has faced recent scrutiny for lineup decisions as well as platoon usage during Friday’s game against San Diego when substitutions were made following pitching changes by their opponent.
This marks only Wilson’s third career managerial ejection; he had never been tossed during his playing days.
