Torii Hunter OK with umpire Paul Nauert patting his face during squabble

mpire Paul Nauert appeared to be trying to defuse a tense situation Monday night by lightly — very lightly — patting the face of Torii Hunter of the Detroit Tigers during a bench-clearing incident with the Baltimore Orioles. In the moment, Hunter acted like he didn't appreciate being touched. Afterward, he said was OK with it, and he even apologized for his part in the squabble.
Regardless, any time an ump touches a player, or the other way around, Major League Baseball is going to look into it. The Detroit News reports that MLB will investigate what happened.Hunter was upset after getting drilled in the ribs with a pitch by Norris, who was ejected by home plate umpire James Hoye. One pitch earlier, Ian Kinsler had hit a two-run homer to extend Detroit's lead. No matter what Norris's intent was with Hunter, hitting him looked suspicious.
Hunter and Norris jawed as Hunter walked to first base (by way of the pitcher's mound) and benches cleared. No punches were thrown on either side but, by the time Norris left the field a few minutes later, Hunter was still mad with him, and they picked up with the jawing again. For anyone wondering why Hunter was upset, he offered this suggestion during the postgame interviews