Thomas Shea-Imagn Images
Astros outfielder Taylor Trammell hit a stand-up double Thursday night during the ninth inning of the game between Houston and the New York Yankees. Shortly thereafter, Yankees manager Aaron Boone asked umpires to inspect Trammell’s bat. The umpires ended up confiscating the bat without imposing any other form of penalty, leaving many, including Trammell, confused.
Taylor Trammell responds
“It’s actually ridiculous. I have no idea what really happened,” Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reported Taylor Trammell said after the game.
“I’ve had that bat since I’ve been here. I’ve had it for a long time. I usually take BP with it. I use it in games, I use it in (Triple-A Sugar Land), use it every time I need. The only thing I just don’t have a gloss finish on my bat. It’s matte. Paint wears down. That’s what happened.
“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. I have no idea. That’s baffling to me that it was even checked. They didn’t like it. Sorry. I used it the first at-bat and it wasn’t a problem. I struck out and it wasn’t a problem then.”
Astros had their bat examined by the umpires mid-game after seeing something unusual vs. Yankees
The game resumed after the bat was confiscated. pic.twitter.com/zVWJYCUTKp
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 5, 2025
Aaron Boone explains
Aaron Boone explained why he wanted Taylor Trammell’s bat to be inspected after the game. He said the Yankees noticed some discoloration on the bat and just wanted it checked.
“It’s just something we noticed this series and asked the league about. Yeah, you’re not allowed to do anything to your bat. And I’m not saying he was. We noticed it and the league thought it was maybe illegal too. So I wanted to at least ask about it,” Boone said, adding, “The discoloration was on the label, like, I don’t know if it was just natural or if it was sand, I don’t know. I don’t want to accuse Taylor. I’m not saying anything untowards or whatever. We noticed it though on video while we were here and we actually mentioned it to the league and they said, ‘No, that looks like an illegal bat.’ So that was it.”
Aaron Boone breaks down the 8-4 win over the Astros with @M_Marakovits and the rest of the media. #YANKSonYES pic.twitter.com/JWKZv6s0CU
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) September 5, 2025
Astros manager responds
Astros manager Joe Espada said Taylor Trammell’s bat was being sent to the league office to be checked out.
“The bat was worn down a little bit,” Espada said. “He uses that bat all the time and I guess they thought it was an illegal bat. So the league wants to take a look at the bat. I thought it was… whatever.”
Whatever indeed. Taylor Trammell is batting .208 this year and possess a career batting average of .177. So if he is using a cheater bat, he really needs to get himself a better one.