Umpire Doug Eddings’ apology to St. Louis Cardinals rookie Hancel Rincon was reportedly prompted by a warning from MLB that the umpire went too far in reprimanding the rookie pitcher.
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, citing unnamed sources, reported Sunday, Sept. 6 that Eddings was admonished for “acting inappropriately” when he told Rincon — a 24-year-old making his debut — to straighten out the bill of his hat.
Rosenthal reported that “it’s unclear whether Eddings will face further discipline from MLB.”
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Rincon faced four batters in his debut game before being removed for a reliever. Cardinals manager Oli Marmol was still frustrated with Eddings when he made the pitching change, and was ejected for arguing with Eddings.
Saturday, some St. Louis players wore their hats to the side in protest of the umpire’s actions. So did some members of the Rockies, according to the Cardinals’ broadcast.
Eddings apologized to Rincon for his actions from the previous night before the game.
On Sunday, the Cardinals optioned Rincon to Triple-A and recalled left-handed pitcher Cooper Hjerpe.
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Adding to the confusion: conflicting stories about why Eddings admonished Rincon in the first place. The umpire told a pool reporter after Friday’s game that he was prompted by something Colorado Rockies catcher Hunter Goodman said to him about Rincon’s hat.
But Goodman said Saturday that he “never once mentioned the hat” to Eddings.
It is rare for MLB to punish umpires for their actions on a field. Even in this case, the league did not make any public announcements — and might not have been the subject of Rosenthal’s story if Eddings had not apologized to Rincon on Saturday.
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It’s also rare for umpires to became the focal point of a game. In this case, Eddings’ actions weren’t just unpopular with the Cardinals, but with the opposing team as well.
“I didn’t like seeing that my name was a part of it today when I didn’t say anything like that,” Goodman said. “You watch baseball growing up. There are a lot of guys who have had their hat crooked or however. Honestly, before today, when I went back and looked, I didn’t even notice the hat was messed up or looked like that when I was hitting.
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