Taylor Walls was at the center of a bizarre and unexpected ejection during Game 3 of the Rays’ series against the Houston Astros. After taking a called strike he didn’t agree with, Walls voiced his frustration to home plate umpire Nic Lentz. As he stepped out of the box and adjusted his helmet, he briefly tapped it — a move that seemed to upset the umpire, who immediately ejected him from the game.

“That’s what he told me. ‘You’re not going to do that. You’re not going to tap your helmet,’” Walls said after the game. “And so at that point, like, I know that they think that’s disrespectful. I watched the video, and I could see where he may have thought that.”

Tapping the helmet is not illegal in the MLB, but it has been used in Minor League seasons and during Spring Training as a way for

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