Cardinals, Rockies stage silent protest with crooked hats after umpire clash over hat angle

On Friday night, home-plate umpire Doug Eddings instructed 24-year-old rookie pitcher Hancel Rincon to wear his cap straight during his MLB debut in the sixth inning. When Rincon entered the game, his cap was tilted slightly to the left, per CBS Sports reporting. Eddings instructed the catcher to tell Rincon to straighten his hat, and the pitcher complied. Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol came out to defend Rincon and was ejected for arguing with Eddings. According to CBS Sports, Marmol called the order a "power-hungry move." After the game, Marmol told reporters: "I had an issue with Doug. Just Doug. He took it upon himself to tell our rookie pitcher the kid's not going to wear his hat on my field that way." Marmol cited Dontrelle Willis, CC Sabathia, and Pedro Strop as examples of pitchers who have worn their caps tilted much more. The Cardinals defeated the Rockies 7-6 on Friday night. Eddings told reporters he did not know if it was an official rule but called it "a little unwritten rule." Eddings said pitchers cannot wear caps backwards like catchers, and if it is a distraction, it should be addressed. Rincon said through an interpreter: "I've been pitching with my hat like that. It's not an excuse. But I had no idea why he told me to do it," per CBS Sports. Rincon surrendered three runs and recorded one out before being removed. When his replacement, Justin Bruihl, took the mound after Marmol voiced further displeasure to Eddings, Eddings gave Bruihl a pitch clock violation, which led to Marmol's ejection. MLB Rule 3.Rules 3.03(g) and (h) cover potential distractions, specifically forbidding any pattern that imitates or suggests the shape of a baseball and glass buttons and polished metal. On Saturday night, Cardinals players and staff wore their hats off-center in the dugout in silent protest, joined by a few members of the Rockies, per Yahoo MLB reporting.