This past Monday, MLB started its plan to go heavy handed with checking pitchers for the use of foreign substances. For the most part, we've seen pitchers and umpires kind of laughing through the exercise, though some have acted a bit dramatic about it.
Sunday, we got our first ejection. Mariners pitcher Hector Santiago was tossed in Seattle's game against the White Sox.
"He was ejected for when his glove was inspected, for having a foreign substance that was sticky on the inside palm of his glove," crew chief Tom Hallion explained after the game. Hallion also termed the substance "very noticeable" and said all members of the umpiring crew agreed with the determination that it was a foreign substance.
Under the crackdown, any sort of foreign substance anywhere on the pitcher, his glove, his hat, his belt buckle, etc. carries an automatic ejection. The league office will now examine the glove -- that's where the umpires found something they deemed as a rules violation -- and determine whether the ejection was warranted or not. If the league concludes that Santiago was violating the rule, he'll be suspended for 10 days with pay.
As for Santiago and the Mariners, they dispute the assertion that the substance in his glove was in violation of the rules:
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As part of the deal, the Mariners wouldn't be allowed to replace him on the active roster, which means they would be down one pitcher spot for 10 days.
By way of reminder, Rule 6.02(c)(7) says:
The pitcher shall not have on his person, or in his possession, any foreign substance.
This rule has been on the books for decades, but things started to get out of control with pitchers taking far too much of the leeway they were given. As a result, MLB issued a memo in the spring to ramp down the use of substances and that didn't work, so the league mandated that umpires would start checking pitchers on the field, starting this past Monday.
