To finish up my one day two part series on baseball cheating in honor of deflategate, let’s talk about the pitchers.
First the rule, 8.02(a) (2-5) and (b):
8.02 The pitcher shall not—
(2) expectorate on the ball, either hand or his glove;
(3) rub the ball on his glove, person or clothing;
(4) apply a foreign substance of any kind to the ball;
(5) deface the ball in any manner; or(b) Have on his person, or in his possession, any foreign substance. For such infraction of this section (b) the penalty shall be immediate ejection from the game. In addition, the pitcher shall be suspended automatically. In National Association Leagues, the automatic suspension shall be for 10 games.
Pretty simple right. There have been some great pitcher-caught-in-the-act moments over the years. Here is a sampling:
Michael Pineda was caught last year with pine tar on his neck. I love how non-nonchalantly the umpire kicks him out. Lip reading it looks like he just says “that’s pine tar” and boots him.
Joe Niekro had an emery board with him on the mound. He tried to slyly get rid of it, but the umpire saw him throw it to the side. Look at how the Twins manager is trying to keep the umpires away from his pocket at the beginning of the conference.
Heck you could even get ejected throwing a spit ball in a video game.
The only real difference between these guys and others…they got caught.
BetterRuleBook.com 