Hector Santiago, a Seattle Mariners pitcher, was ejected in the fifth inning of the first game of the Sunday doubleheader against the Chicago White Sox, after umpires inspected his glove, but the veteran player says he only used resin in what was a damp day.
“Umpire Phil Cuzzi) said he felt a sticky thing inside his glove,” Santiago said after the Mariners’ 3-2 win. “All I used was resin. I used it on both sides to try to keep the sweat from falling onto my hands ”.
Santiago, 33, 10 years in the majors, was pulled from the game after giving away two walks and two hits in his third inning, but was first checked when his glove was confiscated.
Under the league’s new rule to inspect pitchers for possible use of foreign or illegal substances, Santiago handed the glove to Cuzzi for inspection and the umpire sent him off moments later. In replays, it seemed that the referees were checking the inside of Santiago’s glove.
“What we do is check the entire glove for anything that looks sticky or something like that,” explained Tom Hallion, the game’s umpire crew chief. “It was very remarkable and then the rest of the team inspected it to make sure we all agreed. The four of us agreed that it was a sticky substance and that is why we expelled it ”.
“What they told me was that you can’t use resin on the glove hand,” Santiago said. “When I use resin, I put it on both sides. The umpire said you can’t wear it on the glove hand. “
The glove was seen on television being wrapped by a Major League Baseball authenticator for further inspection in New York under the new rule that went into effect Monday.
“Once they take it and check it, they will only (find) sweat and resin,” said Santiago. “If they are going to use all this scientific process, it will just be sweat and resin. We will be fine”.
“The humidity is 85-90 percent. (Hector) had resin all over his body, ”said Scott Servais, Mariners manager. “When you put resin in your sweat, it becomes sticky.
“Our players do the right thing. We follow the rules, ”he added.
Santiago could face a 10-day suspension and the team could not replace him on the roster while he serves the suspension. You could also be cleared of any suspicions once the glove is thoroughly inspected.
“Use your own judgment on what you think is sticky and not a standard for what we’ve seen in all of our baseball games,” Hallion said.
Santiago is in his first season with the Mariners and entered the first game of Sunday’s doubleheader going 1-1 with a 2.45 ERA in eight appearances.
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