Cardinals and Rockies turn crooked hats into a protest over umpire’s call
St Louis players and staff, joined by members of Colorado, wore off-centre hats after a dispute involving rookie Hancel Rincon and umpire Doug Eddings.
St Louis Cardinals players and staff wore their hats off-centre on Saturday night in what Yahoo Sports described as a silent protest, with some Colorado Rockies members joining the gesture.
The protest followed an incident during Cardinals rookie Hancel Rincon’s major league debut on Friday. Home-plate umpire Doug Eddings stopped play and instructed Rincon to straighten his hat, which had been worn at an angle.
Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol later challenged Eddings over the handling of the incident and was ejected. St Louis went on to defeat Colorado 7–6.
Eddings reportedly told the game’s pool reporter that Colorado catcher Hunter Goodman had brought Rincon’s hat to his attention. Goodman has denied that account.
The episode has drawn attention because pitchers have historically worn crooked hats without apparent issue, including former major league pitchers Fernando Rodney, Pedro Strop, Dontrelle Willis and C.C. Sabathia. The exact number of Rockies players or staff who took part in Saturday’s protest was not stated.
