The major leagues turned upside down this week. This is because the New York Mets’ Max Scherzer was ejected on Thursday for violating the foreign object rule.
From the beginning of the game, a strange atmosphere flowed between Scherzer and the referees. In the second inning, first base umpire Phil Cousy suspected Scherzer’s hand condition. It was the beginning of the case. Scherzer washed his hands with alcohol in front of the judges.
His hands were clean, but the situation was not clear. Scherzer was tested again before the end of the third inning. This time the glove was the problem. Coogee ordered new gloves instead of the sticky ones. Scherzer accepted his opinion and replaced with a new glove. The confrontation between the two sides seemed to be over, but the atmosphere became serious again as the fourth episode moved on. Cousy called in referee Dan Bellino, the head of the refereeing team, and checked Scherzer again. And he ordered Schurzer to leave.
Scherzer ran amok. The referees shouted that the foreign substance they tripped over was ‘rosin’, which was allowed. I did everything the referees told me to do, but I responded that I didn’t know what the problem was. Scherzer could not hide his excitement in the post-game interview. In the process of conveying his own innocence, he even walked his children. He pointed out that it was excessive, but it meant that it was unfair.
The referees responded immediately. “It wasn’t any better than when I first checked it out,” Bellino explained. He added that the condition of Scherger’s hand was the worst he had ever tested. It was emphasized once again that Scherzer’s exit was a reasonable action.
From June 2021, Major League Baseball has been strictly managing the use of foreign substances by pitchers. This is the first time that the scene where the pitcher is stopped and inspected after the inning is over. Some countered that it was “an act of ignoring major league pitchers,” but the claim of “self-employment” was dominant. While there were pitchers who actively cooperated, there were also pitchers who were nervous.
Scherzer is the third pitcher to be ejected after strengthening foreign substance inspections. Ahead were Hector Santiago and Caleb Smith. It’s not unprecedented, but Scherzer is out of step with the two pitchers. Since he is considered the best pitcher in his career, the foreign substance exit is considered more serious.
Once the official position is out, Scherzer cannot be free from responsibility. He protests that he only used rosin, but the Major League Rulebook stipulates that rosin can also be regarded as a foreign substance if it is excessive. In fact, Trevor Bauer has demonstrated the sticky effect of combining rosin and sweat (he showed putting a baseball on the palm of his hand). Even if Scherzer had no intention, the power of Scherzer’s words was weakened. As a result, Scherzer gave up an appeal against a 10-game suspension. It is impossible to reverse what is in the Rulebook.
Scherzer’s fault is obvious. He didn’t know the rules properly. Then, is Scherzer the only thing that can be changed? Scherzer’s case should remind pitchers once more. However, as already criticized in many places, a more certain ‘standard’ is needed.
This year, Major League Baseball announced that it would be more stringent in inspecting pitchers for foreign substances. He said that he would closely examine not only gloves, hats and belts, but also his fingers. In the past, inspections were conducted in the middle of an inning, but this year, it is added that inspections will be conducted at all times if there is a suspicious situation. Even the catcher has to comply with the inspection when requested by the umpire.
This is a will to establish fairness through transparent game management. There is also a purpose to prevent the togotajeo from getting worse. Major League Baseball, whose league average batting average of 0.243 last year was the lowest since 0.242 in 1967, introduced various rules this year to ease pitchers. In line with this, it is the intention to eradicate pitcher cheating and increase the league’s offensive power. This is the background of the sudden emphasis on foreign material inspection, which was conducted two years ago.
Correcting mistakes is the right thing to do. However, it is necessary to prevent unfair victims from appearing. It is okay to use rosin, but it is somewhat ambiguous that you should not use too much. If the standard is left to the discretion of the referee, there may be a case where someone works and someone doesn’t. The fact that Coogee, who kicked Scherzer, was also the one who kicked out Santiago and Smith, was a hot topic for nothing. Bellino, who ordered Scherzer’s exit along with Coozie, was also criticized for being emotional during Madison Bumgarner’s foreign body examination last year (Bellino has even publicly apologized).안전놀이터
New York Mets Buck Showalter is the manager who understands league rules best. He cleverly uses the rules to make the referees nervous. Showalter asked about this situation, “What Scherzer wrote is rosin, and rosin is allowed in the league. If this is a problem, are there any pitchers without problems?”
Scherzer was stigmatized as a foreign substance pitcher. The gaze to see Scherzer will not be the same as before. This is something Scherzer has to bear. However, it is not clear that injustice is emerging in the process of increasing fairness. A specific plan that everyone can understand must be sought so that blushing will not happen again.