Warning: Story and video contain obscene language.
Cincinnati Reds left-hander Caleb Ferguson apologized for directing obscenities at umpire Bill Miller late in Monday's game against the Seattle Mariners.
Ferguson was pitching in the seventh inning when Victor Robles hit a ground ball up the middle that could have been an inning-ending force play for second baseman Edwin Arroyo. Instead, Arroyo ran into Miller as he attempted to field the ball, causing it to skip into center field for a single to put runners on the corners. The miscue prompted Ferguson to unleash his anger at the second-base ump.
"Fucking fatass, get out of the way. Fat motherfucker"
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) July 21, 2026
Reds pitcher Caleb Ferguson had some choice words for umpire Bill Miller after he obstructed a fielder pic.twitter.com/2eGZpebLiJ
After the moment went viral, the 30-year-old expressed his remorse to reporters on Tuesday.
"As long as I've been in this game, I don't know if you'll find a clip of me going at an umpire like that (before)," Ferguson said, according to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer. "Definitely gonna have to wear that one on the chest, and seek Bill out, or try to at some point, and definitely make it right with him. (It was) very unprofessional on my part. ... I know Bill's doing his best to not be in the way in that situation, so I've got to be better on my part, too."
Miller didn't eject Ferguson for the harsh words but appeared to acknowledge what the pitcher yelled at him.
Ferguson, who allowed a grand slam to Mariners star Cal Raleigh earlier in the inning, managed to regain his composure after the Miller incident, striking out the next batter to end the inning. He noted that he had no other interaction with the umpire and admitted that he let the moment "take over instead of staying in control (of myself)."
"I don't really do social media, so I didn't see it until late, and I wish I had seen it earlier so I could have been doing this (apology) earlier," Ferguson said. "It's just a very unprofessional thing on my part, and I know these things happen within the game, but I don't like that I was kind of the centerpiece of what was going on."
Ferguson, an eight-year big-league veteran, owns a 3.98 ERA and 1.57 WHIP with 20 strikeouts and one save in 21 outings for the Reds this season. He joined Cincinnati as a free agent after finishing his 2025 campaign with Seattle.
Miller, 59, has been a major-league umpire since 1997 and a crew chief since 2014.
