MLB looking into longtime umpire Drake’s tweet

Major League Baseball is looking into a since-deleted tweet by longtime major league umpire Rob Drake, according to a league spokesman.

Drake tweeted late Tuesday that he planned to buy an assault rifle “because if you impeach MY PRESIDENT this way, YOU WILL HAVE ANOTHER CIVAL WAR!!! #MAGA2020”, according to a copy of the tweet obtained by ESPN.

The tweet, which was deleted soon after it was posted, followed one earlier in the night regarding the House of Representatives’ impeachment proceedings with President Donald Trump.

The other tweet, which remains active on Drake’s account @thedrake30, says: “You can’t do an impeachment inquiry from the basement of Capital Hill without even a vote! What is going on in this country?”

Drake deactivated his account Wednesday. He did not return phone and text messages.

Joe West, the president of the Major League Baseball Umpires Association, declined comment when reached by phone.

Drake, 50, made his major league debut in 1999 and has been a full-time major league umpire since 2010. He worked postseason games in 2010 and 2012-15, and was on the crew at the All-Star Game in 2013.

Born in Pennsylvania, Drake now lives in Arizona.