Umps Made Rays Pitcher Zach Eflin Take Off His Wedding Ring in a Bizarre Scene

Umpires have cracked down on pitchers using foreign substances to manipulate the ball in recent years, but this might be taking things a bit too far.

In the new era of sticky-stuff awareness, umpires gathering at the pitcher’s mound to inspect a pitcher’s hands has become common practice in today’s baseball reality. But Thursday’s meeting between umps and Rays pitcher Zach Eflin brought about an entirely unusual conclusion.

Before the second inning of Tampa Bay’s game against the Pirates, Eflin was summoned and eventually told by the umps to remove the wedding ring from his left ring finger. Despite the odd request, Eflin, a right-handed thrower, complied, returning his now ring-less left hand to his glove to remain in the game.

Eflin has enjoyed a scorching start to the season in his first year with the Rays, and it appears his wedding ring is not the source of his success. He fired seven shutout innings against Pittsburgh, allowing just three hits with no walks and 10 strikeouts as Tampa Bay secured a 3–2 win to complete the sweep over the Pirates.

After the game, Eflin said that umpires have asked him to take his ring off in the past and he declined, though today’s crew threatened an ejection if he left it on.

“This umpire crew was kind of a little different. They seemed a little on edge,” Eflin said after the game. “It’s part of it. I said, ‘If you’re gonna eject me out of the game then I’ll take it off,’ and that’s what they ended up coming out and telling me on the mound.”