ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 23: Umpire Doug Eddings #88 looks on during the eighth inning of the game between the Los Angeles Angels and the San Francisco Giants at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on June 23, 2021 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images)
The first suspension of a pitcher for using a foreign substance has been handed down by MLB.
It was a matter of when, rather than if, a pitcher was going to be served a suspension for using a foreign substance on the mound.
The seal has now been broken.
Seattle Mariners pitcher Hector Santiago is two things: The answer to a trivia question and suspended for the next 10 games.
According to ESPN insider Jeff Passan, the Mariners pitcher has been suspended by MLB for being busted over the weekend with what it believes was a foreign substance. The common man has been calling it Sticky Stuff, but Rob Manfred and the powers that be at baseball have been calling it something else: Cheating.
What pitcher got caught with sticky stuff?
Hector Santiago was caught using a foreign substance during his appearance in Sunday’s game against the White Sox.
“Seattle left-hander Hector Santiago has been suspended 10 games for having a foreign substance on his glove,” Passan reported on Tuesday. “He will appeal.”
Santiago is actually the answer to two trivia questions. One is that he becomes the first MLB pitcher to be suspended during MLB’s crackdown on foreign substances, but he is also the first pitcher to be ejected from a game for failing a foreign substance check.
While he’s set to appeal, it’s unlikely that he’ll win. Rob Manfred and MLB have been absolutely serious about clamping down on pitchers skirting the rules and Santiago is set to be the first example made by the league.