In a Twins vs. Royals game, things got strange between Royals hitters and Twins pitcher Simeon Woods Richardson. Melendez started it off with a double, and as he led off second, Woods Richardson locked eyes, smiled, and blew him a kiss. Right after that, he gave up a single. Later that inning, Kansas City’s Kyle Isbel legged out a bouncer for an infield hit, then came back in the fourth to lay down a surprise two-strike bunt and reach again after Woods Richardson stumbled trying to field it. The awkward exchange between these two continued into the sixth inning when Woods Richardson tried to get cute, joking with Isbel about bunting again. Isbel responded by launching a homer off him.
The next at-bat turned messy. Jonathan India battled to a full count, and Woods Richardson tried to reset by stepping off and then rushing back on to beat the pitch clock. The umpire ruled it a quick pitch violation, sparking a heated argument. Twins manager Rocco Baldelli came out swinging, arguing it wasn’t a pitch clock issue at all and saying his pitcher just needed to hear the call. The ump disagreed, insisting the move disrupted the batter’s timing and counted as a quick pitch. Baldelli got tossed after a loud, profanity-heavy exchange. The crew ultimately clarified the ruling: stepping off and then quickly starting the pitch while the batter isn’t fully set crosses into illegal quick pitch territory, even if the pitcher claims miscommunication.
Woods Richardson’s antics backfired twice in one game—first by blowing a kiss before a hit, then by mocking a bunt before getting taken deep. Then came the rule gray zone that started a lengthy ejection sequence. The whole sequence was chaotic, but it also showed how fine the line is between gamesmanship and violating new pace-of-play rules.