St. Louis Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol confronted an umpire following a contentious incident during Friday night’s game against the Colorado Rockies, leading to his ejection in the sixth inning.
The dispute arose after reliever Hancel Rincon, making his major league debut, was asked by plate umpire Doug Eddings to adjust his hat, which had been tilted to his left side. After complying, Rincon faced immediate trouble: he allowed a triple, a wild pitch that scored the runner, an inside-the-park home run, and a subsequent single before being removed from the game.
Marmol’s frustration boiled over during the pitching change, as he openly challenged Eddings’ authority.
“I had an issue with Doug,” Marmol stated postgame. “He took it upon himself to tell our rookie pitcher the kid’s ‘Not going to wear his hat on my field that way.’ You got [former pitchers] Dontrelle Willis, CC Sabathia, Pedro Strop — plenty of guys that have worn it way more tilted. I have an issue with that. That’s just a power-hungry move, in my opinion.”
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Eddings ultimately issued a pitch clock violation against the Cardinals due to Marmol’s continued protest, resulting in the manager’s ejection from the game.
The umpire clarified that Rincon’s hat adjustment followed a query from Rockies catcher Hunter Goodman, who questioned whether the tilted cap was permissible. Eddings described the situation as an “unwritten rule,” emphasizing that while not explicitly codified, a hat worn backward or excessively tilted could be considered distracting or against field etiquette.
“It’s not [a rule],” Eddings explained. “I guess it’s a little unwritten rule. They can’t wear [their cap] backwards like a catcher. If it’s a distraction, like anything on the field, like a glove or something, and someone makes you aware of it, then you kind of address that.”
Rincon, speaking through an interpreter, remained unfazed by the incident: “I really didn’t know, but it was really, really crooked. I asked the [Cardinals] catcher to tell him to straighten his hat out, and the pitcher did. Nobody said anything until he gave up a couple runs.”
The Cardinals went on to defeat the Rockies 7-6, extending their winning streak to three of four games and maintaining a 3½-game deficit behind the NL’s final wild card spot.
