Houston Astros star Taylor Trammell looked on in shock from second base as his bat was astonishingly confiscated by MLB umpire Adrian Johnson after the New York Yankees complained.
The shocking events unfolded in the bottom of the ninth inning after Trammell hit a double, with Yankees manager Aaron Boone detailing his request to Johnson.
After a several-minute delay, Johnson handed the bat to an MLB official, who took it out of sight, and likely for further evaluation.
The only thing visibly of about the bat was a different coloring on the barrel compared to the rest of the black finish. The delay did not cost the Yankees the game, even with the unusual time off in between pitches.
Trammell revealed after the game Johnson signed off on removing the bat from the game due to the bat appearing to be ‘shaved down’ too much.
‘It was just something that we noticed this series and asked the league about,’ Boone said after the game. ‘You’re not allowed to do anything to your bat. I’m not saying he was. I just … we noticed and the league thought it maybe was illegal too.’
Houston Astros star Taylor Trammell had his bat confiscated by MLB umpires on Thursday
MLB umpire Adrian Johnson made the call to remove the bat from the game in the ninth inning
‘The discoloration was on the label, like. I don’t know if it was just natural or if it was sand … I don’t know. I don’t want to accuse Taylor. I’m not saying anything untoward or whatever.’
Trammell spoke out after the loss as well, in shock that his bat was called out and eventually taken from him.
‘I’ve had that bat since I’ve been here. I’ve had it for a long time,’ Trammell said after the game. ‘I usually take (batting practice) with it. I use it in games, I use it in (Triple-A Sugar Land), use it every time I need. The only thing I just don’t have a gloss finish on my bat. It’s matte. Paint wears down. That’s what happened.’
‘To be honest, I have no idea how you shave down a bat. I don’t know what it is. I feel kind of defensive right now, more so a test of my character of like I’m going to willingly do that.’
‘Just kind of lost on that thing, and if anybody knows me knows I’m never going to cheat any turns or anything like that. I have no idea. That’s baffling to me that it was even checked. They didn’t like it. Sorry. I used it the first at-bat and it wasn’t a problem. I struck out, and it wasn’t a problem then.’
The bat removal was not the first controversy from the umpiring crew from the highly anticipated Houston-New York series.
On Wednesday night, umpire Brian Walsh, who was at third base for the confiscation, was outed as a fan of one of the team’s main rivals – the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Blame from the New York fan base for the only loss of the series pointed directly at the umpire, with Boone believing there was an ‘inconsistent’ strike zone.
