After controversial issues taking center stage in Games 1 and 2 of the series between the Houston Astros and the New York Yankees, the series finale was no different.
In an 8-4 loss versus the Yankees, opposing manager Aaron Boone had a bat check conducted on Astros outfielder and No. 9 hitter Taylor Trammell. Trammell came into the game as a pinch-hitter in the seventh inning for Mauricio Dubon and stayed in to play center field after striking out.
A late rally in the ninth inning however saw Trammell at the plate once more, ripping a double to left field off of the Crawford Boxes. Following Trammell's arrival at second base, Aaron Boone had umpires take a look at Trammell's bat and eventually confiscate it for further evaluation.
Trammell was candid about his displeasure towards the bat check, speaking to Bryan McTaggart of MLB.com after the game. "It's actually ridiculous. I have no idea what really happened." Trammell commented. "I just got word they thought my bat was shaved down too much. To be honest, I have no idea how you have shave down a bat. I don't know what it is. I feel kind of defensive right now, more so a test of my character of like I'm going to willingly do that. Just kind of lost on that thing, and if anybody knows me knows I'm never going to cheat any turns or anything like that."
Trammell went on to say: "I used it the first at-bat and it wasn't a problem. I struck out and it wasn't a problem then."
To Trammell's credit, the timing of this bat check appeared ill-intentioned. Before that base hit, Trammell was 0-for-4 in the series and hadn't recorded a hit since Aug. 12, spending time on the injured list between the end of August and the beginning of September.
Complicating matters even further, Trammell played in five games for the Yankees last season, under manager Aaron Boone.
As of now, Major League Baseball has not issued a statement on the incident nor have they suspended Trammell.