The decision to not appeal his 10-game ban for breaking Major League Baseball’s regulations on the usage of foreign substances by pitchers has been made by the New York Mets closer, Edwin Diaz.
As the Mets prepared for a home series against the New York Yankees—a crosstown rival— manager Carlos Mendoza broke the news.
Mendoza stated that they just wanted to move on from it in response to a reporter’s question on Díaz’s lack of an appeal.
In Sunday’s 5-2 victory against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field, Díaz was removed before throwing a pitch just before the ninth inning. Following a standard check for foreign substances, crew chief Vic Carapazza threw Díaz out.
Upon inspecting his hands, which is mandatory before closers begin an inning, the umpire determined Diaz’s pitching hand was too sticky and that he was applying a substance other than rosin and sweat (which is legal).
Pitchers can increase a ball’s rotation by applying substances to their fingers. This will create much more spin and allow the ball to move more rapidly to its pitches.
The Mets manager Carlos Mendoza and Díaz both stated that the umpire had expressed his belief that the pitcher’s throwing hand was excessively sticky.
The ban, announced by Michael Hill, MLB’s senior VP of on-field operations, will begin on Tuesday during the Mets’ home game against the Yankees at Citi Field.
The Met’s ace pitcher was issued a suspension after it was determined his throwing hand was too sticky in 2023.
Like Diaz, Scherzer felt the ban was unjustified, and he claimed innocence, saying that he did not utilize any illegal substances– just rosin and sweat.
Baseball analytics were released to show that Scherzer’s spin rate was higher in 2023 than in 2022, lending suspicion to the claim that he was not doing anything differently.
