Major League Baseball told veteran umpire Doug Eddings that he acted inappropriately by instructing St. Louis Cardinals rookie Hancel Rincon to straighten his tilted hat during a game Friday, sources told The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal.
The league reportedly believes Eddings went too far in admonishing the pitcher, considering there are no rules about players being required to wear their caps a certain way.
The incident, which occurred during the sixth inning, led to the ejection of Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol after he stood up for his player. Marmol later called the situation "embarrassing" on Eddings' part.
Home plate umpire Doug Eddings called time to tell Hancel Rincon to fix his hat.
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) September 5, 2026
Oli Marmol was later ejected after sticking up for Rincon, who was making his MLB debut. pic.twitter.com/UXY2zEA7JE
The umpire told reporters postgame that Rockies catcher Hunter Goodman asked during the at-bat whether Rincon was allowed to wear his hat titled. Goodman later denied commenting on Rincon's hat.
"I didn't like seeing that my name was a part of it today when I didn't say anything like that," Goodman added.
During the first inning of Saturday's game against the Colorado Rockies, Eddings stopped Rincon to apologize for how he acted the previous night. The apology came after MLB spoke to Eddings about the incident, Rosenthal reports.
It's unclear if Eddings will be disciplined further, according to Rosenthal.
Many Cardinals and Rockies players wore their hats tilted during Saturday's contest in an apparent protest of Eddings' actions.
