Rays’ Zach Eflin Was Asked By The Umpires To Take Off His Wedding Ring, Almost Got Ejected For It

Umpires congregating at the pitcher’s mound to examine a pitcher’s hands has become standard procedure in today’s baseball reality in the new era of sticky-stuff awareness. However, the encounter between the umpires and Rays pitcher Zach Eflin on Thursday ended in a way that was completely unexpected.

Rays’ Zach Eflin Was Asked By The Umpires To Take Off His Wedding Ring, Almost Got Ejected For It

The highest-paid free agent signing in Rays history, Eflin earned a three-year, $40 million contract with the team this summer. Earlier in the season, during the Phillies’ World Series triumph, he had thrown for them.

When the umpires went to examine pitcher Zach Eflin of the Tampa Bay Rays for a foreign substance after the first inning of Thursday’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, it was an unexpected meeting. Eflin and crew boss Adrian Johnson engaged in a protracted conversation before Eflin ultimately removed his rubber wedding band.

The wedding band was absent from the right-hander’s left hand as he stepped to the plate in the second inning. Eflin continued to pitch seven innings without allowing a run while striking out 10 batters to win the game 3-2.

Elfin wore the ring on his necklace for the duration of the game after being instructed to remove it.

MLB regulations state that for safety reasons, pitchers are not permitted to have jewelry on their hands while playing. An immovable medical bracelet is the lone exception to this rule. Zach Eflin was probably requested to take off his wedding band by the umpires because it may slip off accidentally and hurt him or someone else on the field.

According to what Eflin informed reporters after the game, it appeared to be the situation.

“It was the first crew that’s really given me trouble about taking the ring off,” Eflin said. “I’ve told every umpire that’s asked me take it off I’ve said ‘hey look I respect what you guys do but I’m gonna keep it on it’s very important to me.’ And most umpires are cool with it and they’ll kinda let MLB take care of it if they need to. But this umpire crew was kind of a little different. They seemed a little on edge. But you know it’s part of it. I said ‘if you’re gonna eject me out of the game I’ll take it off’ and that’s what they  ended up coming out and telling me out on the mound was that they’re gonna toss me out of the game if I didn’t take off my rubber ring. So I took it off.”

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The fact that Zach Eflin had to take off his ring had no impact on how he performed. The Tampa Bay Rays swept the Pittsburgh Pirates thanks to his seven innings of three-hit pitching and ten strikeouts against the visitors, improving their season record to 26-6.

Fans of the Rays and Pirates have both criticized the umpiring staff for how they handled the key series between the two front-runners in the league.

 

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