SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. (AP) - San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy apparently thought a rival scout was getting too much of a good look at his team.
At Bochy’s request, a scout for the Los Angeles Angels who was watching the Giants take infield practice Wednesday morning was ejected from Scottsdale Stadium.
“I don’t think it’s the time for scouts to be there,” Bochy said.
“They have a job to do, I understand that,” he said. “There were a couple of things we wanted to work on.”
Media reports said Angels scout Jeff Schugel was taking notes during the Giants’ routine drills when he was told to leave the ballpark.
“It was 10 a.m. and I was just doing my job, watching infield practice and grading arms,” Schugel said, according to CSNBayArea.com.
“The next thing you know, an usher told me I couldn’t be there. I thought he was joking,” he said.
Schugel didn’t immediately leave. He walked down the first base line and sat in the stands before being escorted from the park.
“In 25 years, I’ve never had that happen to me,” Schugel said.
Schugel was back at the stadium for the Rockies-Giants exhibition game, and he laughed about the episode while eating lunch.
Angels spokesman Tim Mead said the scout can go back to the field Thursday.
“Once a workout starts, a scout can watch,” he said. “It was a miscommunication.”
Earlier this spring, Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson had scouts removed while they were watching drills at Arizona’s camp.
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