MLB Twitter infuriated by umpires forcing Zach Eflin to remove wedding ring from glove hand while pitching: "Absolutely ridiculous"
Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Zach Eflin's sterling performance against the Pittsburgh Pirates was briefly interrupted by the MLB umpires on Thursday afternoon. The issue? Eflin was wearing a rubber wedding ring on his glove hand — and apparently, it had to be rid of.
The incident occurred prior to the start of the second inning. As Eflin was warming up, home plate umpire Manny Gonzalez came out to the mound to tell the hurler that the ring had to go.
After some conversation between Eflin, Gonzalez and Rays manager Kevin Cash, the ring came off. Eflin tucked the ring into the sweatband of his ballcap and continued to dominate the Pirates.
Umps made Zach Eflin take off his wedding ring https://t.co/BGVmDMzgdF
Zach Eflin being made to remove his ring didn't affect his performance much. He tossed seven innings of three-hit ball at the visitors, striking out 10 batters as the Tampa Bay Rays swept the Pirates to improve to 26-6 on the season.
Hopefully Eflin's wife doesn't take issue with the pitcher being forced into what was seen as MLB compliance by removing the ring.
@TalkinBaseball_ Hope he enjoys sleeping on the couch! The Mrs. ain’t gonna like this one
His wife gonna be pissed!!! 😂😂 twitter.com/talkinbaseball…
@TalkinBaseball_ I’d rather get taken out of the game and never pitch another inning, but that’s just me 😤💪😮💨
Most Tampa Bay Rays fans were infuriated at what was seen as a petty maneuver by Gonzalez for forcing Zach Eflin to remove a wedding ring from his glove hand. The umpiring crew has come under a lot of fire from fans of both the Rays and Pirates for their handling of the crucial series between the league front-runners.
Pittsburgh manager Derek Shelton was ejected from Game 2 of the series on Wednesday after multiple arguments about the application of the pitch clock.
@TalkinBaseball_ What does that change lmao
Are you fucking kidding me?! Why are the umps so damn soft this season?? Bro is wearing a rubber ring like cmon twitter.com/talkinbaseball…
@TalkinBaseball_ This crew has been atrocious all series
This is absolutely ridiculous, @MLBUA. twitter.com/mlbonfox/statu…
Fans are generally united in disgust when MLB umpires feel the need to interject themselves needlessly into games. After all, as the old saying goes, no one is at the ballpark to see the umpires.
Thursday's wedding ring incident gave enthusiasts of the game just one more reason to decry unwarranted umpire interference in the game day experience.
@TalkinBaseball_ What is this??????? THIS ISNT BASEBALL. I HATE MANFRAUD SO MUCH.
This is some garbage twitter.com/talkinbaseball…
@TalkinBaseball_ I thought the main idea with rule changes was to speed up the game. Seems like this season the umps are so involved it’s becoming optically slower.
Then again, most MLB athletes do remove their wedding ring and leave it in their locker before the game.
Who the fuck plays baseball with a wedding ring on twitter.com/talkinbaseball…
Zach Eflin remains undefeated for MLB-leading Rays
Zach Eflin improved to 4-0 with a 2.25 ERA with Thursday's gem. It was the third win in a row for the Tampa Bay Rays, and the sixth win in the team's past seven games. The Rays lead all of MLB with a 26-6 record. Tampa Bay takes on the New York Yankees this weekend.