Singer’s ‘Ejection’ a Wrigley First

More than 300 “guest conductors” have led the crowd at Wrigley Field in singing “Take Me Out To The Ball Game” during the seventh-inning stretch.

When former Chicago Bear tackle Steve McMichael got his chance, he did what the likes of Bill Murray, George Foreman or a purple dinosaur named Barney had never done. He got himself removed from the building by an umpire.

On Tuesday night, McMichael, who works for a Chicago radio station and is a retired professional wrestler whose nicknames included “Mongo” and “Ming the Merciless,” made a comment about a call by home plate umpire Angel Hernandez that ended the previous inning.

“And don’t worry, I’ll have some speaks with that home plate umpire after the game,” McMichael said before breaking into the song that became a longtime Wrigley Field tradition under the late Harry Caray.

The statement was met with a roar of approval from the crowd, but Hernandez appeared angry at the comment and signaled for McMichael’s ejection. According to Cub officials, Hernandez asked crew chief Randy Marsh to call the press box and ask that McMichael be removed.

McMichael left without incident, said John McDonough, the team’s vice president of marketing and broadcasting. He said McMichael planned to leave after he sang anyway.

In fact, McMichael said he didn’t know about his ejection until later.