New York Mets pitcher Max Scherzer was ejected from his start on Wednesday (April 19) after umpires checked his glove and hands for a sticky substance.
Scherzer was tossed from the Mets’ 5-3 victory over the Dodgers in the fourth inning after a third inspection in as many innings. The ejection carries an automatic 10-game suspension, which can be appealed.
Max Scherzer has been ejected from today's game for using an illegal foreign substance on his glove
(via @SNYtv)pic.twitter.com/zjPSL2RJcf
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) April 19, 2023
After the game, Mets manager Buck Showalter said Scherzer was ejected for having rosin on his glove, which is illegal according to MLB’s rules on sticky substances. Every pitcher is provided with a bag of rosin on the mound as a legal option to improve pitch grip, but mixing that with easily accessible liquids like sunscreen and sweat leads to an even stickier sensation.
Scherzer said after the second inning that his hand was “clumpy” from the rosin and sweat and that he was told by umpire Phil Cuzzi to wash it off, which Scherzer said he did with alcohol in front of an MLB official. He was checked again before the third, and according to Cuzzi Scherzer’s hand appeared clean but the pocket of his glove was sticky so Cuzzi asked him to use a new glove. Scherzer complied and continued to pitch.
Before the fourth Scherzer was checked again, leading to a heated discussion between him and the umpires that led to the right-hander’s ejection. According to reports, Scherzer was repeatedly shouting “It’s rosin!” at the umpires before he left the game.
Scherzer told reporters after the game that he had washed his hands and changed gloves, knowing he would be checked again by umpires before pitching the fourth inning. He also said that he had rosin in his glove, but he insisted that there was no intent to cheat.
“I’d have to be an absolute idiot to try to do anything when I’m coming back out for the fourth [inning],” Scherzer told reporters after the game.”… He said my hand is too sticky, and I said, ‘I swear on my kids’ life that I’m not using anything else. This is sweat and rosin, sweat and rosin.'”
Max Scherzer swears on his "kid's lives" that he wasn't using anything else but sweat and rosin today pic.twitter.com/0AtBov0JQu
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) April 19, 2023
In a pool report after Wednesday’s game, crew chief Dan Bellino said that the stickiness on Scherzer’s hand during the fourth-inning inspection was “much worse than it was even in the initial inspection.”
“As far as stickiness, this was the stickiest it had been since I’ve been inspecting hands, which goes back three seasons,” Bellino said. “Compared to the first inning, it was so sticky that when we touched his hand, our fingers were sticking to his hand. Whatever was on there remained on our fingers afterwards for a couple innings. It was far more than we’ve ever seen before on a pitcher during live action.”
This is the second incident involving sticky substances in the majors this week, as Yankees pitcher Domingo German was stopped by umpires for having too much rosin on his hands during his start against Minnesota last Saturday. Similar to Scherzer, German was asked to wash his hands after an initial warning but appeared to not cooperate. However, he stayed in the game, causing Twins manager Rocco Baldelli to be ejected after an argument with the umpires. This time around, it was Scherzer who got the boot.
Rocco Baldelli got tossed after the umps allowed Domingo German to remain in the game following a lengthy substance check pic.twitter.com/6cWSg3iJPo
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) April 15, 2023
Before last season, MLB informed teams that they would be cracking down on the increase in sticky substances, part of which included randomized inspections of pitchers. Prior to Scherzer, just two pitchers had been ejected for violating the MLB’s foreign substance policy — Seattle‘s Hector Santiago and Arizona‘s Caleb Smith. Both pitchers received 10-game suspensions and all three instances of ejection were carried out by Cuzzi.
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