In a twist to a saga that riled the baseball world, Colorado Rockies catcher Hunter Goodman on Saturday denied he said anything to umpire Doug Eddings about St. Louis Cardinals reliever Hancel Rincon’s cap, comments that came one day after the hat and its tilt were at the center of a confrontation between Cardinals manager Oli Marmol and Eddings.

“I never once mentioned the hat,” Goodman told reporters in Denver, according to MLB.com. “It doesn’t matter who’s pitching. I don’t care how they wear the hat. I’m trying to find out where the ball is coming out, and I’m trying to worry about what I’m doing in the box. I’m not worried about how his hat looks.”

The scene unfolded in the sixth inning Friday night, when Rincon was making his MLB debut. He had a 2-0 count against Cole Carrigg with one out when Eddings instructed Cardinals catcher Leo Bernal, also a rookie, to tell Rincon to straighten his hat. Later in the inning, an irate Marmol approached Eddings and was tossed.

Home plate umpire Doug Eddings called time to tell Hancel Rincon to fix his hat.

Oli Marmol was later ejected after sticking up for Rincon, who was making his MLB debut. pic.twitter.com/UXY2zEA7JE

— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) September 5, 2026

Goodman, who had come to the plate two batters earlier, was linked to the story in reports afterward, which indicated the catcher had pointed out the tilt of Rincon’s hat. But reports on Saturday were a bit murkier. MLB.com, for example, noted that Eddings did not use a batter’s name in his comments. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported: “Eddings’ explanation suggested this happened as Rincon began the inning and faced his first batter, the Rockies’ Hunter Goodman.”

“The batter said, ‘Hey, can he wear his hat like that?’” Eddings said Friday, according to the Post-Dispatch. “I really didn’t know, but it was really, really crooked. I asked the catcher to tell him to straighten his hat out, and the pitcher did.”

On Saturday, Goodman said he has taken heat because he was pulled into the dispute.

“I’ve been getting online stuff about me that I didn’t appreciate for something I didn’t say,” he said.

Marmol, whom Eddings ejected after he adjusted his cap while arguing with him on the field, told reporters that he thought Eddings’ actions were “embarrassing.”

“I thought it was poorly handled,” Marmol said Friday night, “and we’ll see what happens.”

The Major League Baseball Players Association was in touch with the players involved and with the commissioner’s office about the situation, another person close to the situation said Saturday. When asked for comment, an MLB spokesman pointed The Athletic to Eddings’ comments to reporters following Friday’s game. A message to the MLB Umpires Association went unanswered. No discipline for either Marmol or Eddings was announced.

In Denver, Eddings appeared to attempt to make things right. After the top of the first Saturday night, the Cardinals’ broadcast captured footage of St. Louis relievers heading to the bullpen. Eddings, who was working third base, stopped Rincon and appeared to have a friendly exchange with the reliever.

Still, the ejection and the outrage about Rincon’s hat simmered online and found its way onto the field. Some Cardinals players were spotted in their dugout ahead of the game sporting crooked caps, and one player incorporated a slight hat-tilting motion into his post-hit celebration.

Later in the game, Rincon made his second big-league appearance. The umpires allowed him to pitch with his cap tilted this time, but Rincon was knocked around for four runs on four hits over one-plus innings. The last hit scored the Rockies’ seventh and eighth runs, which meant free tacos for all in attendance, as well as the end of Rincon’s night on the mound. The Rockies eventually hung on to win, 10-7.

Some Cardinals players are wearing their hats crooked todaypic.twitter.com/jJZvDiB58t

— Underdog MLB (@UnderdogMLB) September 6, 2026

Of course, had Eddings chosen a similar path the night before, there wouldn’t have been such backlash, with even Atlanta Braves Hall of Famer Chipper Jones and former All-Star center fielder Mike Cameron weighing in via posts on X.

“Ahhhh Doug Eddings…,” Jones wrote. “I believe I addressed his behavior and attitude a while back. Not surprising at all!”

“I’m sorry,” Cameron wrote, “there was no need for Doug Eddings’ commentary on a rookie and his cap… he was once a rookie and this isn’t his debut… if he wants to hold a standard it should be his own game.”

Tilted hat watch for the Cards tonight 🧢🔥 pic.twitter.com/7N03FsNY8D

— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) September 6, 2026

Minnesota Twins manager Derek Shelton said “yeah,” when asked if it was shocking to see Eddings’ directive to Rincon to adjust his hat.

“I will stop at that,” Shelton said.

“You know what? I wasn’t involved in that game,” New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “I had a good conversation with the league about it when I saw it, though.”

It’s not an umpire’s job to play uniform police, Twins reliever Jeff Hoffman said.

“Who’s to say your hat’s not on tight enough?” Hoffman said. “Who’s to say your hat’s not straight enough? There’s more important things to spend your time on. To me, players are out there to play. Umpires are out there to umpire. That’s it.”

— Dan Hayes and Chris Kirschner contributed to this report.