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As benched cleared in Baltimore Monday night, umpire Paul Nauert did the following to Tigers outfielder Torii Hunter:
Reports Tuesday morning indicated that the league was reviewing the tap, but Hunter indicated on Tuesday that he had zero issue with it.
“He wasn’t smacking me like people think,” Hunter said before Tuesday night’s game with the Orioles. “I was probably losing it. He was just trying to calm me down.”
“It was all for the good.”
Hunter said that if Major League Baseball asks him a question on the incident, “I won’t even talk to them. There’s nothing really to investigate. It was obvious Paul did a good thing.
“Whoever came up with this (the thought there might be an investigation, they’re not even human. They must be a robot.”
Hunter has also admitted that he overreacted to getting hit with the pitch while Tigers manager Brad Ausmus told reporters he has no issues here either.
Let's hope MLB agrees. I'm as much against umpires making themselves the center of attention as anyone, but this seemed awfully innocent -- with an umpire just honestly hoping to find a way to settle down a developing situation. If the person at the receiving end of the tap believes it was necessary, the investigation is a waste of time.
