New York Mets ace Max Scherzer has been suspended 10 games by Major League Baseball and fined $10,000 after he was ejected for allegedly having a foreign substance on his hand and glove during Wednesday afternoon’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The 38-year-old right-hander will not appeal the decision because he does not think he could win.
Scherzer was ejected by umpire Phil Cuzzi after multiple inspections of his hand — first in the third inning that forced him to change his glove and again before the fourth which led to a heated exchange and his ultimate dismissal.
Scherzer was adamant that he only used rosin, which is supplied on every pitcher’s mound in MLB, and the sweat from his hands and arms, which created a sticky substance. He washed it off between innings in front of a league official using alcohol before re-applying rosin ahead of the fourth.
“Rosin is different in different environments. What you do in Miami is different than what happens in a cold day in New York which is different in LA,” Scherzer said on Thursday night. “It gets sticky in inconsistent ways… I ran into a situation in a previous start in New York where it was windy and cold, it didn’t have a lot of stick. Spin rates were down… I get to LA in a day game, hot and sunny, all of a sudden the rosin is working more. That’s what happened.”
Yet the severity of the stickiness was alarming for Cuzzi and home-plate umpire Dan Bellino.
“As far as stickiness, level of stickiness, this was the stickiest that it has been since I’ve been inspecting hands, which now goes back three seasons,” Bellino said. “Compared to the first inning, the level of stickiness, it was so sticky that when we touched his hand, our fingers were sticking to his hand. And whatever was on there remained on our fingers afterwards for a couple innings, where you could still feel that the fingers were sticking together.”
MLB’s official statement released on Thursday evening corroborated Bellino’s comments, saying the umpiring crew 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. “
If Scherzer had decided not to appeal, he’d have returned for the May 1 series finale against the division-rival Atlanta Braves. However, the Mets can’t afford to lose the star for two turns of the rotation.
Justin Verlander is working his way back from a shoulder strain, Jose Quintana is shelved until at least July after undergoing rib surgery, and Carlos Carrasco was placed on the 15-day injured list on Wednesday for a bone spur in his elbow.
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