During a game between the New York Mets and the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday, quite a controversial incident occurred when Mets ace Max Scherzer was ejected in the third inning by umpire Phil Cuzzi after a foreign substance check. The incident seems to surprise and confuse many, but now the crew chief from the umpires involved in the ejection is speaking out.
Crew chief Dan Bellino spoke to the media after the incident on Thursday and he stood by the decision saying that Max Scherzer had a sticky substance on his hand that was “the stickiest that it has been since I’ve been inspecting hands.”
“The level of stickiness on his hand was much worse than it was even in the initial inspection that had taken place two innings prior…this was the stickiest that it has been since I’ve been inspecting hands, which now goes back 3 seasons,” Bellino said. “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 (for a couple innings) … It was far more than we had ever seen before on a pitcher in live action.”
More from Bellino (via a pool reporter): "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 (for a couple innings) … It was far more than we had ever seen before on a pitcher in live action."
— Tim Healey (@timbhealey) April 19, 2023
It’s quite a bold statement, and the MLB world had plenty to say about it on Twitter.
Wow Scherzer really bout to get suspended for 10 games https://t.co/Xzz6qPksab
— DaddyDimmuTV (@DaddyDimmuTv) April 20, 2023
Imagining Dan Bellino keeping a diary of every sticky stuff check he’s ever made with a proprietary rating system https://t.co/Yencuvx4Ha
— Joon Lee (@joonlee) April 19, 2023
I'm always down to clown on the Mets but this one really does feel ridiculous to me.
I legit believe it was just rosin, this felt like an ump show. https://t.co/jpnmglADdO
— baseball boi (@Thrasher828) April 19, 2023
I understand this is a serious issue, but “this was the stickiest that it has been since I've been inspecting hands” is a five-star sentence and I just don’t want us to cruise past that. https://t.co/M0N8opbfM1
— Rachael Millanta (@rachaelmillanta) April 20, 2023
The umpiring crew doubling down on Max Scherzer.
There surely will be a 10-game suspension.
And Scherzer will appeal. https://t.co/RlOjahcvY7— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) April 19, 2023
Scherzer ejection explanation…#MLB https://t.co/jVxfW31jT5
— Dan Roche (@RochieWBZ) April 19, 2023
We’ll have to see how this situation develops because it’s clear that Scherzer is not happy with the ejection, but it’s also clear that the umpires are confident in what they saw.
