Cincinnati Reds manager David Bell ejected by umpires after exchanging words following Clarke Schmidt’s substance check
The Cincinnati Reds manager David Bell was given his marching orders by the umpires after he fought with them over Clarke Schmidt's substance check.
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Reds manager David Bell speaking with umpires. (Pic Credit: NY Post)
Any match-up against the New York Yankees this season seems to have some sort of drama saved up. In a week where captain Aaron Judge was indirectly charged with allegations of cheating signs and the ejection of Domingo German for using banned foreign substances, the Yankees got another headline.
In their 6-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds, their pitcher Clarke Schmidt was ordered by the umpire to wash his hands. Meanwhile, Reds manager, David Bell was ejected by the umpires for arguing.
Just a few days ago, German was found to be using rosin and was given his marching orders by the umpires. This was the second incident where German was checked for any substance, the first being the in the match against the Twins.
Starting pitcher Clarke Schmidt was cruising through the Reds line-up. It was at this time, the umpires decided to check for any illegal substances as a precaution. Before taking to the mound on the fifth inning, the crew of umpires walked over to Schmidt to check his hand.
The MLB has been under a lot of criticism regarding its rules on “sticky stuff“. The umpires found his hand to be a little sticky and ordered the pitcher to wash his hands off. It allowed the Southpaw to continue pitching the game.
This conclusion from the umpires did not go well with David Bell. The manager was visibly frustrated by the decision to allow the Yankee pitcher to continue pitching in the game. He walked up to the umpires and made an argument about it.
However, the umpires were having none of it and ejected him for exchanging words with them. Interestingly, Twins manager Rocco Baldelli was also ejected for his actions during the German incident in April.
Related: NY Yankees’ Domingo German ejected for use of illegal substance in game against Toronto Blue Jays
David Bell unhappy with league’s conclusion regarding sticky substances
In recent years gone by, the MLB has intensified its policy regarding “sticky stuff”. The usage of rosin is allowed for a better grip of the baseball. However, pitchers have been ejected from the game if their hands are found to be too sticky. Former three-time Cy Young Award winner, Max Scherzer was ejected and handed a 10-game suspension, despite him claiming it was only sweat and rosin.
As per the basic rules set by the organization, pitchers are prohibited to have any foreign substances on their hands while taking the mound. This is done so to protect the fairness of the game and help the batters. Any pitcher found to use any of the banned substances receives a strong penalty in the form of automatic ejection. Reds manager David Bell felt Schmidt too deserved to be ejected.
While communicating his remarks about the decision, David Bell said he is not going to say a thing about it. He though thinks what happened was pretty obvious but will not challenge the decision now. Meanwhile his counterpart Aaron Boone was concerned about the glove of Schmidt.
The debate regarding this sticky stuff policy of the league is gonna carry on for a while now. A certain clarification from the league could also be on the way if the number of such cases starts to rise up in the upcoming days. The Yankees are now 27-20 while the Reds are in a disturbing fourth place in NL Central with a 19-25 record.
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Vinay Dave
(1743 Articles Published)