NEW YORK — Major League Baseball has ruled that Houston Astros outfielder Taylor Trammell’s bat, which was confiscated in the ninth inning of Thursday night’s game against the New York Yankees, was technically illegal.
But the league office determined that Trammell’s bat did not give him a competitive advantage, and the umpires treated the situation like “an impermissible glove color or design and told the player that he was no longer permitted to use the bat,” according to a major-league source.
MLB’s bat supplier regulations, shared with The Athletic, state that a two-color bat must be divided into two sections, each of one solid color. The dividing point between each of the color sections must start 18 inches from the knob end of the bat, or next to the 1-inch solid color ring, if applicable. Multi-colored bats are only permitted if the color transition occurs at the 18-inch mark from the knob.
Trammell had discoloration on the barrel of his bat, which prompted Yankees manager Aaron Boone to ask the umpires to examine it after the Astros outfielder hit a double.
“I don’t know if it was just natural. I don’t know. I don’t want to accuse Taylor. I’m not saying anything untoward,” Boone said Thursday. “We noticed it, though, on video while we were here, and we actually mentioned it to the league, and they said, ‘No, that looks like an illegal bat.’ That was it.”
Trammell told reporters after the game that he had used that bat for “a long time,” and that he takes batting practice with it and had it with him when he was with Triple-A Sugar Land. He said because he doesn’t have a gloss finish on his bat, the paint wears down over time.
“My biggest problem is, I feel kind of defensive right now, more so (it is) testing my character of, like, I’m going to willingly do that,” Trammell said Thursday. “I’m kind of lost on that thing. I think if anybody knows me, knows that I’m never going to cheat any turns or anything like that. I have no idea. That’s baffling to me that it was even checked. They didn’t like it. Sorry.”
Trammell played five games for the Yankees last year before being released. He has a 90 wRC+ for the Astros in 44 games this season.
(Photo of umpires Adrian Johnson and Ramon De Jesus examining Taylor Trammell’s bat: Alex Slitz / Getty Images)
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