Unusual debate over an unwritten rule after Dominican pitcher Rincón's crooked cap

A dispute over a baseball cap turned into an unusual confrontation during Dominican pitcher Hancel Rincón's debut for the St. Louis Cardinals. Umpire Doug Eddings asked the rookie to wear his cap correctly, prompting a later argument that ended with Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol's ejection.

Rincón was pitching the sixth inning on Friday, with St. Louis leading Colorado 4-1. Colorado catcher Hunter Goodman pointed out that the pitcher was wearing his cap at an unusual angle. Eddings said he asked Goodman to tell Rincón to straighten it, and the pitcher complied.

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Really, I didn’t know, but it was really, really crooked. I asked the catcher to tell him to straighten his cap, and the pitcher did it. Nobody said anything until he allowed a couple of runs.

“Really, I didn’t know, but it was really, really crooked. I asked the catcher to tell him to straighten his cap, and the pitcher did it. Nobody said anything until he allowed a couple of runs,” Eddings said after the game.

Rincón said the request did not distract him, although the inning became difficult after he retired Goodman. TJ Rumfield hit a triple, Cole Carrigg followed with an inside-the-park home run, and Connor Norby added a single. “I had no idea why he told me to do it,” Rincón said.

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I had no idea why he told me to do it.

After Rincón was replaced by Justin Bruihl, Marmol strongly challenged Eddings. The argument led to a pitch-clock violation for the incoming reliever and Marmol's fourth ejection of the season. Marmol said pitchers including Dontrelle Willis, CC Sabathia and Pedro Strop had worn their caps at similar angles without being warned.

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Only Doug. He took it upon himself to tell our rookie pitcher that the kid ‘is not going to wear his hat that way on my field.’ You have Dontrelle Willis, CC Sabathia, Pedro Strop, many who have worn it much more tilted. I have a problem with that. In my opinion, that is just a power move.

“Only Doug. He took it upon himself to tell our rookie pitcher that the kid ‘is not going to wear his hat that way on my field.’ You have Dontrelle Willis, CC Sabathia, Pedro Strop, many who have worn it much more tilted. I have a problem with that. In my opinion, that is just a power move,” Marmol said.

Eddings acknowledged that Rincón had not broken a written rule. He described the request instead as a small unwritten rule intended to prevent distractions. St. Louis ultimately won 7-6 after Panama's Iván Herrera hit a 430-foot home run in the ninth inning.

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I suppose it’s a small unwritten rule. They can’t wear it backward like a catcher. If it’s a distraction, like anything on the field, like a glove or something, and someone points it out to you, then you address it.