Astros outfielder's bat ruled technically illegal after Aaron Boone's bush league move

There was no shortage of drama during the Houston Astros' series loss to the Yankees this week, and it ended on a controversial note. In the ninth inning of the Astros' 8-4 loss on Thursday night, Yankees manager Aaron Boone took issue with Taylor Trammell's bat after he had hit a double just seconds before. The bat was confiscated, but Trammell remained in the game, and in the post-sign-stealing scandal reality for the Astros, nothing is ever just be left that simple.

The Athletic's Chris Kirschner reports that Major League Baseball has indeed deemed that Trammell's bat was illegal, but that it did not provide a competitive advantage for the Astros' outfielder. There is some level of disappointment with this news, as it would have been fun for Astros fans to once again point at the Boone and Yankees being obsessed with everything Houston does.

Aaron Boone sparks controversy after Astros star’s bat ruled illegal

The funniest part in Kirschner's reporting is how the explanation blatantly makes it clear that the bat was illegal, but not in the way anyone would expect.

"MLB’s bat supplier regulations, shared with The Athletic, state that a two-color bat must be divided into two sections, each of one solid color. The dividing point between each of the color sections must start 18 inches from the knob end of the bat, or next to the 1-inch solid color ring, if applicable. Multi-colored bats are only permitted if the color transition occurs at the 18-inch mark from the knob."

No, Trammell did not channel his inner Sammy Sosa and put a cork in his bat; instead, it just wasn't the right style of two-toned bats that MLB allows.

Boone may feel justified in that he cracked the mystery of a bat that was two-toned in the wrong way, but this is just another example of the Yankees' manager being petty. For all the puffing of his chest that he did after the game, the fact is that David Bednar giving up a double to one of the worst players on the Astros' roster was still because of his bad pitching and not the illegal bat that was used.

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