MLB’s crackdown on pitchers using foreign substances or otherwise doctoring the ball had so far not resulted in any ejections.
That changed today, at the tail end of the first week, with Mariners reliever Hector Santiago being tossed and his glove confiscated and sealed up in a trash bag.
Mariners' Hector Santiago is the first player to be ejected for violating MLB’s new foreign-substance policy.
(via @NBCSWhiteSox) pic.twitter.com/Yi6Du5z6cC
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) June 27, 2021
https://twitter.com/BenVerlander/status/1409227692235399170
When they catch you doctorin' the ball pic.twitter.com/9SLapdaMnG
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) June 27, 2021
Mariners pitcher Hector Santiago has been ejected for something going on in his glove. He was inspected as he was pulled from the game in the bottom of the 5th.
— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) June 27, 2021
Rob Manfred somewhere today after Hector Santiago’s ejection pic.twitter.com/BCPfR1NBbI
— Curtis Rogers (@AKidFromKent) June 27, 2021
It’s actually surprising it took this long for someone to get tossed, although considering pitchers had a heads-up, it’s possible that they spent the week looking for ways to be more discreet about their practices than, say, having a clearly discolored patch of tacky material on the bill of their hat.
Now comes the somewhat more interesting part of the process, as Santiago and the Mariners will surely appeal, while the public learns just how much transparency there will be about the process. Will MLB release what they find with the glove? Because learning the crazy ways pitchers attempt to do stuff like this is endlessly fascinating! Lean into the entertainment side of it, MLB!
