Tampa Bay Rays star Taylor Walls was seething during a shocking outburst with home-plate umpire Nic Lentz on Sunday, leading to his ejection and needing to be restrained multiple times.
Walls did not agree with a strike call against the Houston Astros and was visibly frustrated. After tapping his helmet a few times, Lentz stopped play and tossed the Rays star from the contest.
The ejection immediately had Walls seeing red, with him angrily talking to Lentz before being briefly separated by Rays manager Kevin Cash.
Lentz did not speak out after the game on his intentions, with some believing the umpire thought the head-tapping measure was a signal to how minor-league teams ask for a replay review.
Walls did speak out after the game, saying him tapping his head was ‘unintentional’.
‘I just remember going to get into the box, kind of adjusting my helmet, and then hearing him mouthing something,’ Walls told FanDuel TV. ‘I think I said, “What’d you say? I can’t hear you.” At that point, I have no recollection of it, but after seeing the video, it looks like I tapped my helmet, but it was totally unintentional, something I was not consciously aware of at all.’
Rays star Taylor Walls was seething during a shocking outburst with home-plate umpire
Walls did not agree with a strike call against the Houston Astros and was visibly frustrated
‘Never in my life have shown an umpire like, been that disrespectful to do something like that. We didn’t even have the (Automated Ball-Strike) in spring training, so just to be so on edge thinking that somebody’s just trying to be so disrespectful and show you up at that point, I think it was premature.’
‘I don’t really remember any time that I’ve been thrown out of a game since I’ve played baseball. I kind of want to apologize to him for if that’s what he thought that I did, but at the same time, like, after missing a call, you have to kind of understand the situation.’
‘You can’t just toss me for something that you’re not totally sure that I was doing it intentionally to disrespect.’
Walls ended the game batting .188 on the season with only a solo home run, trying to get out of a huge slump in any way.
Major League Baseball will no doubt look at the incident and see if there is any supplemental discipline for Walls’ outburst.
