Twins skipper Rocco Baldelli was ejected after arguing with umpires before the fourth inning vs the Yankees about Domingo German.
Twins manager Rocco Baldelli’s day was cut short as he was tossed after a heated exchange about possible sticky stuff on Domingo German’s hand and glove.
Prior to the exchange, German was being checked multiple times by first base umpire James Hoye, including in the third inning before he took the mound, and after.
In the fourth inning, the umpires had a lengthy conversation with German, Yankees manager Aaron Boone, and translator Marlon Abreu.
What did umpire say to Domingo German about sticky fingers?
Although most of the conversation was not clear, there was one clear line said by the umpires. “Wash your hands before you come out,” and “We can’t let you come back out here,” were said from Hoye to German. That led to Baldelli having a heated exchange with the umpires as it seems like the umpires saw a use of illegal substances,
Twins manager Rocco Baldelli got ejected after umpires checked Domingo German for substances and allowed him to stay in the game
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) April 15, 2023
German has pitched four perfect innings with eight strikeouts so far pic.twitter.com/hou6oxqu5L
In this case, Baldelli has a fair point. Per the memo sent to all 30 Major League ball-clubs, pitchers should be immediately ejected upon finding illegal substances on the pitcher, even if there is a misunderstanding.
In his last start, German went only three innings, allowing five walks and two hits leading to a short two-run outing. On Saturday, German threw five perfect innings with 10 strikeouts.
Rocco Baldelli ejected by umpires
Clearly, Baldelli has a good sense for determining if foul play is involved with German. It will be interesting to see if Major League Baseball handles this incident despite the umpires not doing anything about German’s possible use of sticky stuff.
While some on social media pointed out the decreased spin rates once German washed his hands, it didn’t have much of an impact.
Domingo German spin rates, first 3 innings:
— Jeremy Maschino (@JMaschino_56) April 15, 2023
• Curve: 2774
• Sinker: 2608
• 4-Seam: 2601
• Changeup: 2471
Domingo German spin rates after the umps told him to was his hands:
• Curve: 2629 (⬇️45)
• Sinker: 2463 (⬇️145)
• 4-Seam: 2569(⬇️32)
• Changeup: 2394 (⬇️77)
Looking at Domingo's spin rate on his curve, only 3 of his 25 highest spin rates this season have come this afternoon.
— Chris Kirschner (@ChrisKirschner) April 15, 2023
9/25 for his sinker, including 8 of his top 10 today.
5/25 for his fastball
1/25 for his changeup https://t.co/MVRdVU0CF2
Not much was expected of German heading into this year. Either the pundits were wrong, or there’s something sketchy about German’s last start.