An MLB umpire is taking heat after making a strange demand of a player during his debut in the big leagues. Pitcher Hancel Rincon of the St. Louis Cardinals was in his first MLB game Friday when umpire Doug Eddings stopped play and appeared to demand Rincon straighten his hat.
The Cardinals broadcasting crew was in disbelief. "If Doug Eddings behind the plate was telling Rincon to fix his hat, that is a flat out embarrassment," one broadcaster said. "That is not his job to do.
He's not wearing his hat backwards. This is not a uniform violation. This was a guy just wearing his hat the way he wears his hat, if that's in fact what happened." After the game, Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol stood up for Rincon.
"Quite honestly, I thought it was pretty embarrassing on [Eddings'] end," Marmol said. "You have a kid making his debut and in between in at bat, you tell him he needs to fix his hat, that a kid is not going to wear his hat like that on my field. ... I took issue with it. ...
At the end of the day, I thought they handled it poorly, and I'd like an explanation at some point." As the Cardinals broadcasting crew said later in the game, it's not unheard of that umpires get overly possessive in an effort to assert their authority. "Sometimes, umpires think it's their game, their field," a broadcaster said. They're the officials, they're in charge, but it's the players' game, I thought." The broadcasters also asked for MLB to investigate, and given the comments from Marmol, that's a distinct possibility.
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