HOUSTON -- Taylor Walls was ejected by home plate umpire Nic Lentz during his at-bat in the ninth inning of the Rays’ 1-0 loss to the Astros on Sunday afternoon at Daikin Park.
After entering the series finale as a pinch-runner in the seventh inning, Walls came to the plate with one out in the ninth against Astros closer Josh Hader. He took a first-pitch slider that appeared to be just below the strike zone, but Lentz called it a strike.
Clearly frustrated, Walls stepped out of the batter’s box, called time and told Lentz twice that he thought the pitch was too low to be called a strike. He adjusted his helmet as he walked back to the plate, touching the top of his helmet in the process, at which point Lentz walked around Houston catcher Yainer Diaz and ejected Walls.
Lentz took the shortstop’s gesture as a reference to the automated ball-strike challenge system in which players tap their cap or helmet to challenge a call, but Walls said that was not his intent.
“That's what he told me. 'You're not going to do that. You're not going to tap your helmet.' And so at that point, like, I know that they think that's disrespectful,” Walls said after the game. “I watched the video, and I could see where he may have thought that.
“But I think, like, the context clues around it -- I'm looking at him and my body language is saying, like, 'Dude, I didn't hear what you're saying.' I didn't say anything to him leading up to this. If I'm gonna tap my helmet, I'm not gonna do it while I'm looking at you, asking you a question, trying to understand what you're telling me.”
Walls said he wasn’t aware that he had even touched his helmet that way until he watched the incident on video after he was tossed. Manager Kevin Cash said he didn’t realize an ejection had taken place until he made his way onto the field.
“I just remember going to get into the box, kind of adjusting my helmet, and then hearing him mouthing something. I was like, I think I said, 'Huh? What'd you say? I can't hear you,’” Walls said. “And 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.
“So then he comes out, and he's like, 'We're not doing that. You're out of here,' and tosses me. … 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.”
Walls said he couldn’t remember ever being ejected before. After getting tossed, he got into an argument with Lentz that started relatively calm before quickly getting heated. Cash stood between Walls and Lentz, with bench coach Rodney Linares coming out of the dugout to restrain Walls.
Walls broke free from Linares and returned to argue, at which point first base coach Michael Johns held back Walls before outfielder Josh Lowe walked him off the field. Walls said he didn’t regret anything he said and simply figured he would “just get my money’s worth and let him hear it” after being ejected.
“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, if that's what he thought that I did,” Walls said. “But at the same time, like, dude … after missing a call, you have to kind of understand the situation. You can't just toss me for something [when] you're not totally sure that I was doing it intentionally to disrespect him.”
Lowe said he had never seen his longtime teammate and friend so upset.
“He works his butt off every single day to go out and do what he can for this team to help us win,” Lowe said. “He's fired up in the moment, and then I'm sure the gesture that got him tossed probably got taken out of context. I'm sure you could ask him and he'll say that that wasn't intentional.
“It just goes to show that the guys in this clubhouse care. He cares a lot about this team. We care a lot about him. Obviously, I care a lot about him, going out there and getting him like that. I don't want anything to escalate anymore. Tensions run high in this game. It's a sport that you really care, and it shows.”