St. Louis Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol was ejected from Friday night's game against the Colorado Rockies after a heated argument with umpire Doug Eddings regarding a hat warning issued to rookie pitcher Hancel Rincon.
The incident occurred in the bottom of the sixth inning when Eddings asked Rincon, who was making his MLB debut, to adjust his hat before facing a batter. Marmol expressed strong displeasure with the umpire's intervention.
"I thought it was pretty embarrassing on his end," Marmol said after the Cardinals' 7-6 victory. "We have a kid making his debut and … he tells him that he needs to fix his hat and the kid’s not going to wear his hat like that on my field."
Rincon, 24, reportedly did not understand the reason for the request but complied. He proceeded to allow a triple, an inside-the-park home run, and a single, leading to three runs and a Rockies' 5-4 lead before Marmol removed him from the game. During the pitching change, Marmol confronted Eddings, resulting in his own ejection from the game. Reports suggest Marmol told Eddings to "grow the f–k up" after the ejection.
Marmol stated his issue was with the timing and nature of the hat warning. "He tells him that he needs to fix his hat during an at-bat, and the kid's not wearing his hat like that on my field. Last I checked, this was Coors Field," Marmol said. He compared the situation to other pitchers who have worn hats tilted more significantly, calling Eddings' action a "power-hungry move."
Eddings, however, stated that the hat was "really crooked" and that batter Hunter Goodman had brought Rincon's hat to his attention. "I asked the catcher to tell him to straighten his hat out, and the pitcher did," Eddings said, according to MLB.com. "Nobody said anything until he gave up a couple runs." The umpire acknowledged that Rincon was not violating a strict MLB rule but was acting on what he perceived as a potential distraction brought to his attention.
Despite the tumultuous debut for Rincon and the managerial ejection, the Cardinals secured a 7-6 win. The team currently sits 3 1/2 games behind the San Diego Padres for the final NL Wild Card spot.