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Brewers’ Will Smith gets 8-game suspension for foreign substance

By Kyle Franzoni

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Brewers reliever Will Smith was ejected on Thursday night for having a foreign substance on his arm, and has an eight-game suspension to show for it.

Major League Baseball has a sorted history of pitchers using foreign substances to enhance their grip on the baseball. However, the latest trend may have come to a head on Thursday night with the ejection of Milwaukee Brewers reliever Will Smith.

During the seventh inning of a 10-1 loss to the Atlanta Braves, Smith entered the game with one out and the Brewers trailing 2-1. Smith promptly hit Braves batter Jace Peterson, but before he could throw his next pitch, Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez came out of the dugout and asked the umpires to examine Smith’s right arm. Crew Chief Jim Joyce immediately found the foreign substance and promptly ejected Smith from the game.

A day later, the rules violation earned Will Smith an eight-game suspension per Major League Communications.

An eight-game suspension is awfully tough to swallow for a relief pitcher, as it means the loss of multiple appearances and it is under these grounds that Smith is expected to file his appeal. Michael Pineda of the New York Yankees received an 10-game bad in 2014 after being caught with pine tar on his neck, but as a starting pitcher that only takes the ball every two days, that means the loss of only two starts. Pineda’s suspension was also deemed heavier than most, as video from his previous start showed the foreign substance on his pitching hand.

That all said, 10 days seems to be the going rate for such a violation with relievers, with both Julian Tavarez (2004) and Brendan Donnelly (2005) both initially receiving 10 days before an appeal cut it to eight. Joel Peralta of the Rays received eight games in 2010, also for pine tar.

In this case, Smith was guilty of a combination of rosin and spray-on sunscreen. This has become a common usage by pitchers looking to get a better grip and if you watch a game closely, you will see the pitcher repeatedly going to the forearm on this glove side before rubbing the baseball. However, regardless of its acceptance among pitchers, it is still a clear infraction of MLB rule 8.02.

"“Pitcher shall not have on his person, or in his possession, any foreign substance. For such infraction of this section the penalty shall be immediate ejection from the game. In addition, the pitcher shall be suspended automatically.”"

Smith will likely appeal his suspension, as noted by Bob Nightengale of USA Today, but will do so only under the precedent previously set for such an offense. Regardless of the outcome of said appeal, Major League Baseball will now be pressed into making a some sort of decision as to what entails a foreign substance and what is or is not acceptable. It may come down to a similar ruling as the one that allows the pitchers to go to their mouths while off the rubber, but requires them to wipe their hands before touching the ball.

For now, the umpire needs to adhere to a rule book that is outdated and apparently flexible until someone wants to press it.

Next: Top 30 starting pitchers in MLB history

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