Umpire Doug Eddings' Hat Dispute Unites Cardinals

Home plate umpire Doug Eddings's enforcement of an unwritten rule united the St. Louis Cardinals and Colorado Rockies in shared annoyance during a weekend series. The incident began on Friday night when Eddings ordered Cardinals rookie reliever Hancel Rincon to straighten his slightly crooked hat during his major league debut.

Eddings, described as an unremarkable "redass" umpire type, is known for being on the verge of losing his temper over perceived disrespect. Cardinals manager Oli Marmol paraphrased Eddings's directive as "The kid is 'not going to wear his hat on my field that way.'" The hat's tilt was minor, comparable to perhaps a quarter of the disruption famously sported by reliever Fernando Rodney.

Confusion and Contradictions

The situation grew confused after the game. Eddings claimed the Rockies batter, Hunter Goodman, asked if Rincon could wear his hat like that. Goodman vehemently denied this before Saturday's game. "I didn’t like seeing that my name was a part of it today when I didn’t say anything like that," Goodman said. He added that he hadn't even noticed the hat's position during his at-bat.

Rincon complied with the order but seemed confused. He then gave up a triple, a run on a wild pitch, an inside-the-park home run, and a single before being pulled. Marmol argued with Eddings during the pitching change, leading to his ejection and a pitch-clock violation against the Cardinals.

A Question of Power and Respect

Marmol called Eddings's actions "a power-hungry move, in my opinion" and described the umpire's conduct as "pretty embarrassing." Eddings defended himself by citing uniform standards. "You’ve got to wear your uniform," Eddings said. "Your hat is straight. It’s not crooked." He ejected Marmol over a question of respect, stating, "When he asked if I asked him to straighten the hat up, his comment to me was not very well." A later missed call at home plate by Eddings, which briefly gave Colorado the lead, did not help matters.

Solidarity and a Murky Apology

The Cardinals dugout remained furious. On Saturday, Cardinals players deliberately wore their hats crooked during batting practice. The Colorado broadcast noted several Rockies players did the same in their dugout in a show of solidarity.

Before Saturday's game, Eddings stopped Rincon for a brief exchange. Rincon believed it was an apology, though the conversation happened without a team translator. "I understood a couple words," Rincon said. "And it looked like he apologized to me for what happened last night." Rincon responded by saying, "Don't worry, it's nothing personal."

Two league sources told The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal that the league deemed Eddings out of line. It is unclear if his apology was league-mandated or even definitively an apology. The source suggests Eddings is unlikely to change, acting as a star in a private movie where he must remain on edge. Players from both teams wore their hats askew the following day, a silent protest against the umpire's perceived overreach.