No other professional sport gives its officials as much unchecked control as MLB does with its umpires. It’s not the first time that chants around reducing umpires’ powers have made the rounds. And why not! Just recently, on May 26, the Detroit Tigers’ infielder Javier Báez was ejected after arguing against a called third strike by umpire Phil Cuzzi. Báez was infuriated and exchanged fiery words with Cuzzi. He kept engaging with the umpire before leaving, getting tossed from the game.
Well, something similar unfolded during the Rays-Astros Sunday matchup.
Instances like these can outrage fans, analysts, and players alike. So, the solution? ABS challenge system! During spring training 2025, the league tested this system to avoid human errors. It is meant to strike a balance between the human element of umpiring and ensuring better accuracy for critical calls. But it’s not yet implemented on regular matchups. In fact, it won’t be adopted in regular MLB games till 2026.
Now, with ABS, when a player wants to challenge the umpire’s call on a pitch, he has to tap his helmet right after a pitch. Now, if the game is not using the system, can an umpire take the tapping gesture as a ground for ejection? Well, it’s safe to say that in the Rays-Astros matchup, umpire Nic Lentz didn’t appreciate the gesture.
Taylor Walls was ejected from the game after tapping his helmet.
(via @SpaceCityHN) pic.twitter.com/zVuZP3bHFw
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) June 1, 2025
In the ninth inning against the Houston Astros, Taylor Walls from the Tampa Bay Rays stayed in the game to bat. He watched a first-pitch slider from Josh Harder that was clearly missed. However, according to umpire Nic Lentz, it was a strike. Walls was in pure disbelief and called time.
He tried to recollect himself after having his whole approach switched in the at-bat. He exchanged a few words with Lentz. Just some time later, Walls tapped his helmet. And right at that moment, Lentz nonchalantly ejected him. This gesture is a way to express “I disagree.” Lentz walked to the home plate and announced his ejection. Yes, ejection over a gesture!
Walls was visibly infuriated. He, too, had to be held back by his coaches. And guess what! Walls was right; the call was missed. However, after the game, Walls expressed that his exchange of words with Lentz was “totally unintentional.”
Filing his shoes was Christopher Morel, but he promptly struck out, and just like that, the Astros secured the 1-0 win over the Rays. And after this whole instance, demands are going around for MLB umpires to have less control over the game.
MLB fans snap back after Walls’ ejection
Taylor Walls getting ejected for tapping his helmet has sparked outrage amongst MLB fans. Loud and clear, they are simply tired of umpires holding too much power over the game.
For a while now, even before this game, many have had this question: “Why do MLB umpires have this much power? Why??? Makes absolutely no sense that they can have this big of a part of a game…to determine who can and can’t play!! be better, @MLB you’re a joke!” Well, as per official baseball rules, under Rule 8.01(d), to be precise, umpires have the power to eject players, coaches, and even spectators. However, it didn’t sit well with many for the grounds Lentz ejected Walls.
Another user is clearly done with wrong calls, and they went a little brutal. “@MLB either let players beat the f— out of your umps or robot time.” He’s evidently calling for a full implementation of the ABS system. If that happens, it’ll limit the umpire’s mistakes. With the growing calls for an ABS system, MLB might make a move on this sooner rather than later.
The only core solution now is RoboUmpires. “RoboUmps can’t get here soon enough.” Cause it’s now believed that as long as MLB games have human umpires, such instances are bound to happen.
Wall’s clip of tapping his helmet and then exchanging fiery words with Lentz instantly went viral. And one fan had a completely different perspective. “Umps are rage bait at this point. If we go to robot umps, MLB loses engagements on posts like this.” Think it’s true that from such controversial calls, MLB can benefit? Claims are that such posts attract an insane amount of attention.
Another one emphasized the absurdity of ejection. “Wth? The umpire’s discretion to deem tapping the helmet as unsportsmanlike conduct? Can the fans deem the umpire is a clown?” Apparently, this frustration stems from the fact that umpires have the discretion to interpret some of the gestures. On the other end of the spectrum, there’s a technical reason here, too. Players can’t “excessively” argue or disrespect the umpire.
What happened with Walls isn’t about one bad call or a single moment in time. It’s way deeper. That’s why fans are pressing on the broken dynamic where human errors can shift an entire game. Do you have any thoughts around this? We would love to hear from you…
The post Calls Mount for Reducing MLB Umpires’ Power Amid Furious Backlash Over Controversially Absurd Ejection appeared first on EssentiallySports.
