MLB News: First Player Ejected Over New Foreign Substance Rule

It only took a week for the first MLB pitcher to get thrown out of a game under the new foreign substance policy. The new rule that came into play last Monday has been met with plenty of criticism, but no pitcher was caught up until now. 

The first pitcher to get tossed was Hector Santiago of the Seattle Mariners. Santiago was inspected mid-game after he has pulled in the 5th inning. MLB umpires did the routine check and met with Santiago and manager Scott Servais for several minutes. 

The glove was confiscated and Santiago got the toss. He said after the game that he was not using anything illegal.  

I know I didn’t use anything today. It’s just sweat and rosin. They’re going to inspect it, do all the science stuff behind it and it’s going to end up sweat and rosin.

MLB umpiring chief Tom Hallion also spoke about the ejection after the game. Hallion noted that the substance was sticky and that all 4 umpires agreed it was a punishable substance. 

He was ejected for when his glove was inspected, for having a foreign substance that was sticky on the inside palm of his glove. Yes, it was very noticeable and then the rest of the crew inspected to make sure we were all in agreement. All four agreed that it was a sticky substance and that’s why he was ejected.

If testing on the glove comes back to prove Santiago’s point, MLB could quickly come under fire. Having a pitcher ejected mid-game for a legal substance will be viewed in a very bad light, and their plans to keep policing the issue could fall through very quickly. 

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Santiago is a veteran of MLB having played for 10 years with 5 different teams. He also admitted to using sunscreen and rosin in years past but noted that he made a plan to only use rosin to avoid any issues moving forward. 

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