One of the most bizarre moments of the 2022 Major League Baseball season occurred last week when Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Rodolfo Castro was seen losing his phone while sliding into third base in a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
At the time it was just a funny moment for MLB fans, but having a phone in a uniform is against the league’s electronic device policy and they have made a decision on disciplining Castro for the incident.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan is reporting that Castro has been suspended one game and fined an undisclosed amount for his violation of the policy.
Pirates infielder Rodolfo Castro was suspended for one game and fined for violating MLB policy when he played while having a cell phone in his back pocket.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) August 16, 2022
Passan also added that Castro has chosen to appeal the suspension and that some MLB executives actually believe he could have received a far harsher punishment considering a phone is an easy vehicle to potentially cheat.
Rodolfo Castro is appealing his one-game suspension. Some executives wondered whether it warranted a longer suspension — cell phones being potentially excellent vehicles to cheat, this MLB's chance to say: don't. MLB clearly believed Castro's explanation that it was an accident.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) August 16, 2022
We have definitely seen electronic devices be used as a method of cheating in the past, most famously with the Houston Astros’ use of buzzers to indicate what pitch would be coming during their at-bats.
Given the short length of the suspension, it appears that MLB doesn’t think Castro was intentionally cheating by having his phone in his pocket. That being said, any type of suspension makes it clear they don’t want to see any electronics on players, regardless of the reason.
It remains to be seen how Castro’s appeal to the suspension will turn out, but it’s unlikely MLB is willing to budge on their n0-electronics policy.
