Commissioner Has Suspicions About Cheating

Manfred says umpires are calling only pitchers' most obvious violations
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jun 15, 2023 6:25 PM CDT
Commissioner: More Pitchers May Be Cheating
New York Mets starting pitcher Max Scherzer leaves a game during the fourth inning on Tuesday in New York.   (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred thinks the use of banned sticky stuff is more widespread than the three pitchers ejected this season for illegal grip aids. "I am sure that out of an abundance of caution and good judgment, umpires have had questionable situations that they decided: just not quite sure," Manfred said Thursday following an owners meeting, the AP reports. "And I am 100% certain they err on the side of no violation." New York Mets pitcher Drew Smith was suspended for 10 games Wednesday, a day after he was ejected. That followed similar bans for Mets teammate Max Scherzer on April 20 and Yankees pitcher Domingo Germán on May 17.

"We talk to the umpires after each situation like that. I think it is fair to say across the board the violation situations were in the unquestionable zone," Manfred said. "It was absolutely clear that the level of stickiness in each situation could not be have been produced by the allowable use of a rosin bag." Five pitchers have been suspended since MLB began its crackdown on foreign substances in June 2021, Seattle's Hector Santiago and Arizona's Caleb Smith served suspensions in 2021. Manfred rejected the notion that enforcement is arbitrary.

"The umpires all receive uniform training on what the use of rosin on the mound in the way that is allowed under the rules, what that feels like and what it feels like when you’re doing something illegal, either combining it with rubbing alcohol or sunscreen or some other sticky substance," he said. Manfred added that MLB has an obligation to enforce the rules, per the AP. "The sticky substance phenomenon was altering the way the game was being played on the field," he said.

(More MLB stories.)

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