Trevor Bauer, Los Angeles Dodgers. (Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports)
Longtime MLB umpire Angel Hernandez is learning new tricks, including how to check pitchers for foreign substances thanks to a new rule.
Umpires must check pitchers as they come off the mound every few innings. Should they find anything other than rosin, said pitcher could be ejected from the game, with their glove sent to the league office for further testing.
Seattle Mariners hurler Hector Santiago became the first to suffer this fate over the weekend. Santiago’s glove remains in the lab in New York getting further testing like some sort of critical police evidence.
If this all seems a little strange, you’re right to think so. Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer has been one of the more vocal players against the rule implementation (and it’s easy to see why given his spin rate). On Monday evening, he got a thorough check from Hernandez to make sure he’s not gaming the system.
Trevor Bauer took well to foreign substance check
In the end, umpires are just following instructions. It’s not Hernandez’s fault (for once) that he needs to check every square inch of Bauer’s uniform to ensure he’s not cheating.
There is a collective blame to be had for baseball’s current predicament. MLB should’ve long ago imposed some sort of ban on substances like spider tack, which went above and beyond basic concoctions to make the ball far stickier. Pitchers shouldn’t have cheated the game, either.
Now everyone, including the viewer, must pay the consequences.