[greymule]

Once back when Jimmy Piersall was playing with the Mets, he warmed up the pitcher between innings and, while doing so, completely covered the plate with dirt. The fans noticed, but the ump was away from the plate somewhere. So everybody started laughing in anticipation of the ump's reaction, and when the ump returned to the plate to start the inning, he acted surprised and then slowly took out his broom and began to sweep the plate as if it were going to be an enormous task. It really lightened up the game.

Of course, Piniella's episode is different and involves hostility, so it's not really comparable.