Earlier today, Mets ace Max Scherzer was ejected from the game vs. the Los Angeles Dodgers when the umpires, led by crew chief Dan Bellino, determined he had some sort of foreign substance on his glove. The Mets broadcast team (Gary Cohen, Ron Darling, Keith Hernandez) breaks it down.
Bellino was the same ump who had a heated dispute with Arizona pitcher Madison Bumgarner a year ago. With the retirement of Joe West, Bellino is quickly becoming one of the most hated umpires in the game.
Four days ago, at Yankee Stadium, Yankee pitcher Domingo German had a perfect game going vs. Minnesota when, perhaps prompted by Twins manager Rocco Baldelli, German was checked.
Lindsay at Close Call Sports explains, with help from Yankee announcer Michael Kay.
Commenters on a Mets subreddit complained of umpires being biased against the Mets, but also noted that James Hoye's crew had fumbled in the Yankees-Twins game, which saw Baldelli ejected. They also discussed the fact that Major League Baseball had issued a directive to have the umpires enforce the rules on foreign substances to the letter.
There are going to be incidents like this again and again, all in the name of trying to deter cheating. Scherzer is likely gone for 10 games, meaning he'll miss at least two starts, pending an appeal. However, this is a scenario where Commissioner Rob Manfred and the umpires union may need to rethink things. If it is just rosin, as Scherzer had argued, then the umpires over-reacted, over-sensitive after the German debacle.
Stay tuned, folks. This story ain't over.
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