Nic Lentz threw out Taylor Walls for tapping on his helmet due to a Minor League Baseball rule?

Looks like the whole ruckus that home plate umpire Nic Lentz created was based on a Minor League Baseball rule. On Sunday, during the ninth inning of the Tampa Bay Rays vs. Houston Astros, Lentz applied a Minor League Baseball rule to the spring training in Major League Baseball. The regular season of MLB (Major) does not have an automated ball-strike system . The Associated Press reported on June 2, “A batter tapping their helmet was the signal for challenging a call when the Automated Ball-Strike System was used during spring training in Major League Baseball. The system is still in use in minor league games but is not currently being used in regular season games in MLB.”
In MLB, a batter tapping on the helmet is a sarcastic way of telling the umpire that you would challenge if you could

In the minor leagues where they have ball-strike challenges, you tap your helmet to signal a challenge.

In MLB, it’s a sarcastic way of telling the ump you would challenge if you could. https://t.co/obY9ylPhK5

— Ari Alexander (@AriA1exander) June 1, 2025

On June 2, Ari Alexander, Sports Anchor/Reporter(MLB Insider), shared on his X: In the minor leagues where they have ball-strike challenges, you tap your helmet to signal a challenge. In MLB, it’s a sarcastic way of telling the ump you would challenge if you could.

So sarcasm is a part of Major League Baseball now? Did Tampa Bay Rays’ second baseman Taylor Walls sarcastically tap on his helmet to signal a challenge? And so, home plate umpire Nic Lentz threw him out of the baseball diamond because Taylor Walls sarcastically challenged his call?
Home plate umpire Mike Muchlinski had warned St. Louis Cardinals players about not touching their helmets sarcastically to suggest they’re challenging his pitch calls

Yesterday, home plate umpire Mike Muchlinski told Cardinals players if they touch their helmet to sarcastically suggest they’re challenging a pitch call as they did in spring with ABS, they would be ejected, immediately. He missed 22 calls. pic.twitter.com/99qgswcGJQ

— BaseballHistoryNut (@nut_history) April 3, 2025

On April 4, Baseball History Nut reported through X: Yesterday, home plate umpire Mike Muchlinski told Cardinals players if they touch their helmet to sarcastically suggest they’re challenging a pitch call as they did in spring with ABS, they would be ejected, immediately. He missed 22 calls.

St. Louis Cardinals players were warned by home plate umpire Mike Muchlinski that if they touched their helmets sarcastically to challenge a pitch call made by him, he would eject them immediately. Is that what Nic Lentz did? Two months later? Do these home plate umpires discuss ejecting players so often? The batter could be just adjusting their helmets, or their heads might be tickling because of the sweat accumulated under the helmet. Does it call for ejection then, too?

On June 2, Tom Brew of Sports Illustrated wrote: He(Nic Lentz) also might have looked at (Taylor)Walls and said, "Dude, you're a .188 hitter." In either case, as the home plate umpire, he can do what he wants. Did Lentz miss the call? Of course, he did. But he gets 95 percent of them right and even had a perfect 100 percent score in a Rays game against Kansas City in late April. He's a decent umpire, and has been for a decade now.

Also Read: Why was Tampa Bay Rays' shortstop Taylor Walls ejected amid play for tapping on his helmet? | MLB News - Times of India