Sketchy stuff: Mets have a bad habit of cheating, for better or worse

Edwin Diaz ran out of the New York Mets bullpen on Sunday night to finish off a win against the Chicago Cubs. The plan was to work the ninth inning and leave the Windy City with a save and a series win. However, he was kicked out of the game before he even threw a pitch.

Pitchers coming out of the bullpen must check in with an umpire before taking the mound for warmups and gameplay. The umpires check the pitcher's hands, glove, and hat for illegal substances that may give the pitcher an advantage over the hitter. On Sunday, the umpires found something on Diaz's person that they felt gave him an unfair advantage and ejected him from the game.

This could all be a misunderstanding. It was a muggy night at Wrigley Field, and the combination of sweat and rosin created a sticky texture on the hand (which is legal). It's possible that the extra sweat made the rosin extra sticky due to the conditions. But Diaz could have also been trying to pull a fast one. Either way, the ejection for a foreign substance includes an automatic 10-game suspension.

Diaz and Mets manager Carlos Mendoza did appear to plead their cases to the umpires during the stop in play. However, they eventually conceded to move the game along. While this is Diaz's first time encountering this situation, the Mets are a bit familiar with it by now.

Mets punished again for foreign substance on a pitcher

As Ryan Finkelstein states above, Major League Baseball only began checking pitchers regularly since June of the 2021 season. Edwin Diaz's ejection on Sunday is just the seventh time a pitcher has been ejected for a foreign substance. Three of the seven suspensions have been pitchers for the New York Mets.

Starting pitcher Max Scherzer was ejected from a game in April of 2023 because of a sticky substance found on his hands during his start against the Dodgers. Scherzer stated that he was asked to wash off clumpy rosin from his hand after one of his innings of pitching. He did so with rubbing alcohol in front of an official and was told he was good to go. However, he was then told to change his glove. After a third check, he was ejected.

Then, pitcher Drew Smith was ejected, fined, and suspended in June of 2023 for a foreign substance found on his hand during a relief appearance. Although he called the process "arbitrary" and said he did not do anything different on the night of his suspension, Smith did not appeal and served his time immediately.

Now, with Diaz, the Mets' offenses to the new rule represent 43 percent of the time, someone was deemed to be breaking the rules. Smith is right; the check is arbitrary to whatever the umpire decides could be illegal. However, it is their call to make. Is it a coincidence that three of the seven offenses have come from Flushing, New York? Or are the Mets maybe taking the limits of the law to the brink?