Los Angeles (AFP) - Major League Baseball suspended New York Mets pitcher Max Scherzer for 10 games on Thursday, a day after he was ejected from a game over a "sticky" substance on his hand and glove.
Scherzer was tossed before the fourth inning of the Mets' victory over the Dodgers on Wednesday after umpires checked his hand and glove multiple times and determined that he violated the league's policy against sticky substances to help control the ball.
Scherzer insisted to officials and reiterated after the game that he had used nothing but rosin, which is allowed by MLB, which had mixed with sweat.
"MLB reviewed relevant video and first-person reports, including a report from the umpiring crew led by Crew Chief Dan Bellino," MLB said in a statement."Despite having been warned earlier in the game, including being required to make an equipment change, Mr. Scherzer was found to be in violation of the foreign substance prohibitions of the Official Baseball Rules prior to the bottom of the fourth inning."
Scherzer, who can appeal the decision, said after the game he had already complied in the third inning of the game when asked to wash his hands and change his glove, even washing off with alcohol.
"I'd have to be an absolute idiot to try and do anything when I'm coming back out in the fourth," Scherzer said, adding that he'd washed his hands under the gaze of an MLB official.
MLB's rules on sticky substances say a player can't apply rosin "excessively" or on gloves and other equipment.
Nor can players combine rosin with other substances, such as sunscreen, to make it extra sticky.
Mets manager Buck Showalter indicated after the game he was confident Scherzer had done nothing wrong, saying he'd use rosin which "is very legal."
But MLB's statement said game officials had "concluded that the level of stickiness during the fourth inning check was so extreme that it was inconsistent with the use of rosin and/or sweat alone.
"Both umpires reported difficulty removing the substance from their own hands for multiple innings afterward," the statement said."Consistent with the Official Baseball Rules, the umpires then appropriately ejected Mr. Scherzer from the game."
