Hancel Rincon’s first major league appearance turned into one of those nights nobody in St. Louis will forget anytime soon, and not for the usual reasons.
The Cardinals rookie, just up from Triple-A Memphis, was handed the ball Friday against the Rockies with St. Louis already ahead 4-1.
By the time his debut was over, the focus had shifted far away from the score and onto an umpire, a cap, and an ejection that came out of nowhere.
The oddity started in the sixth inning as Rincon worked against Cole Carrigg at Coors Field. Home-plate umpire Doug Eddings abruptly halted the game and told catcher Leo Bernal to pass along a simple message: Rincon needed to straighten his hat.
Rincon did it, though he didn’t seem to understand why the game had been stopped in the first place. MLB later said Rockies catcher Hunter Goodman had initially raised the issue of whether Rincon could wear his cap that way.
Then the baseball got even stranger. Three pitches later, Carrigg drilled an inside-the-park home run.
Rincon gave up another hit after that, and Cardinals manager Oli Marmol came out to pull him from the game. As Justin Bruihl warmed up, Marmol walked over to Eddings to talk through the whole sequence, and that conversation went sideways fast.
Marmol said afterward that he thought the moment was embarrassing, especially with Rincon making his debut. He also took issue with Eddings acting like the rookie’s hat style was out of bounds at Coors Field.
“Some words exchanged there. Quite honestly, I thought it was pretty embarrassing on his end.”
Things escalated when Eddings then called a pitch-clock violation while the two were talking, and that was enough to get Marmol tossed. MLB later confirmed it was Marmol’s fourth ejection of the season.
What made the whole scene even more baffling was Eddings’ own explanation. He said Rincon had not broken a formal rule at all, calling it an unwritten rule instead.
“It’s not (a rule),” Eddings said, per MLB.com. “I guess it’s a little unwritten rule.”
Rincon, for his part, said the cap issue didn’t rattle him. But the outing still unraveled quickly from there. He was gone after recording one out and allowing three runs.
The Cardinals’ TV crew wasn’t having it either. Chip Caray and Brad Thompson both questioned the decision on the broadcast, with Thompson saying the umpire had no business turning the hat into an issue.
“That is not his job to do,” he said. “He’s not wearing his hat backwards.
This wasn’t a uniform violation.” Caray also suggested the umpires should let the game stay the game and avoid making themselves the center of attention.
There was still more controversy to come in the inning, including another disputed call at the plate. St. Louis had already used all of its replay challenges, which left the club unable to challenge that play.
Marmol also pointed to former pitchers who wore their caps at similar angles, underscoring how unusual the whole thing looked from the Cardinals’ dugout. In the end, though, the team’s bullpen and late offense saved the night.
Iván Herrera launched a go-ahead three-run homer in the ninth, and St. Louis came all the way back to beat Colorado 7-6.
For Rincon, though, the memory of his MLB debut will almost certainly start with a hat, an umpire, and a sequence that spiraled long before he could settle in.
In Other News...
Chiefs Fans Going To Arrowhead Need To Know These New Gate Rules
The Chiefs will open their 2026 season against the Broncos on Sept. 14 at Arrowhead Stadium, and anyone planning to make a full day of it will want to get familiar with the latest game-day policies before heading out. The teams official rules spell out what fans can bring, how tailgating works and whats expected in the parking lots, all of it aimed at keeping traffic moving and the gates moving too.
Arrowhead regulars know the routine can shift from year to year, and this set of updates adds another layer to plan around, especially for fans buying parking passes or trying to pack light for the trip inside. A game ticket will still be required to enter, and the NFLs Clear Bag policy remains in effect, so the safest approach is to check the list of permitted and prohibited items ahead of time rather than learn about it at the gate. [Read more 🡒]
Andy Reid Succession Talk Just Got Real For Chiefs Fans
The conversation around Andy Reids future has started to feel less hypothetical and more like the kind of offseason chatter Chiefs fans can no longer shrug off. On The Ringer Fantasy Football Show, Danny Heifetz and Danny Kelly kicked around what succession might look like in Kansas City, with the focus landing on how long Reid can keep going if the Chiefs ever hit an unexpected stretch of playoff misses with Patrick Mahomes still in place.
Kyle Shanahan came up as one possible name to watch in that scenario, which tells you where the speculation is headed even if nothing official is anywhere close. For now, it is still just talk, not a decision or announcement, but it is the sort of talk that starts to matter when a franchise has spent so long at the top that the question shifts from what comes next on the field to who eventually takes over the headset. [Read more 🡒]
Chiefs Doubts Are Growing As Travis Kelce Faces A Huge Test
The Chiefs spent the 2025 season watching a franchise standard crack in a way few around the league saw coming, with their long postseason streak coming to an end. Patrick Mahomes torn ACL in December only deepened the uncertainty, leaving Kansas City with as many questions about its present as its future, even before the calendar turned toward 2026.
Now the pressure shifts to Travis Kelce, who has made clear he wants to sharpen both his play and his leadership heading into the next season. Around the league, the skepticism is only growing, with Steven Cheah of Barstool Sports projecting a losing record for Kansas City in 2026, and the Chiefs suddenly facing a very different kind of test than the one theyve been used to for years. [Read more 🡒]