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Why was Tampa Bay Rays' shortstop Taylor Walls ejected amid play for tapping on his helmet?

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The Times Of Indiapublisher-detail-arrow
02nd June, 2025 12:56 IST
What does tapping on the helmet mean? That one question is creating a ruckus all over the globe right now. Tampa Bay Rays ’ shortstop Taylor Walls tapped on his helmet after a play. The home plate umpire, Nic Lentz, took it as an automated ball-strike challenge system. In simple terms? Players can tap their helmets to challenge a call. But Walls did not mean that. He shared with MLB.com, “It looks like I tapped my helmet. But it was totally unintentional, something I was not consciously aware of at all.”
Home plate umpire Nic Lentz asked Taylor Walls to stop playing because he tapped on his helmet amid play
On Sunday afternoon, in the ninth inning of Tampa Bay Rays vs Houston Astros, when Rays’ shortstop Taylor Walls was in-bat against Astros closer Josh Hader, he took a first-pitch slider. According to the official website of MLB, the first-pitch slider appeared to be just below the strike zone. But the home plate umpire, Nic Lentz, called it a strike.

After that, Walls communicated with Lentz twice and said that the pitch was too low to be called a strike. He adjusted his helmet, moved two steps ahead, then looked at Nic Lentz and tapped on his helmet thrice.

Taylor Walls says tapping on his helmet was totally unintentional and he was not consciously aware of thatNic Lentz walks up to Taylor Walls and says, “You are not going to do that. You are not going to tap your helmet.”
Walls said, “I watched the video, and I could see where he may have that thought. 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. 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 did you say? I can’t hear you.’ 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.”

The 28-year-old second baseman lost his cool when Nic Lentz asked him to leave amid play. He removes his helmet, throws it to the ground, tries to threaten, comes at him, points fingers, tries to jump on him(to punch him maybe?), comes back, and screams at him angrily - but luckily, he was handled by the rest of the MLB crew on the ground.

Fans reacted to FOX Sports: MLB's X post: Taylor Walls was ejected from the game after tapping his helmet. One fan wrote, "To be fair, he didn’t get ejected for tapping his helmet, it was for what came out of his mouth. These headlines are never honest about what actually happened."

Another fan commented, "If I recall correctly, nearly half of all batters, who get up to bat. Tap their helmet down to make sure it’s secure. If it became some other gesture. That’s just weak." A third fan said, "Referees are ruining sports."
A fan justified both Taylor Walls and umpire Nic Lentz actions, "Seems that both overreacted. Umpire overreacted by ejecting Walls for simply challenging the call. Walls overreacted by his aggression towards the umpire. Two wrongs don’t make a right."

Also Read: How much is Jacob deGrom worth in 2025? A look at his MLB salary, contract and earnings | MLB News - Times of India

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