New York Mets pitcher Max Scherzer was ejected in the third inning of Wednesday’s game against the Los Angeles Dodgers because, according to umpires Phil Cuzzi and Dan Bellino, his hands were way too sticky.
Scherzer was adamant he didn’t break any rules about sticky substances and claimed after the game that all he had on his hands was rosin and sweat. It turned out he made a similar argument to the umpires on the field before he was ultimately ejected.
As the argument was taking place, MLB fans and lip readers could see that Scherzer was repeatedly telling the umps that he only had rosin on his hands. And in a great breakdown video from Jomboy Media, we got an even closer look at the lively discussion. (Warning: NSFW language in the video)
Max Scherzer ejected because his hands were too sticky, a breakdown pic.twitter.com/guAAC25Rdr
— Jomboy (@Jomboy_) April 20, 2023
Scherzer kept saying it was “rosin and sweat” over and over. He even took it to a new level when he said, “It’s rosin and sweat. I promise you on my (expletive) life. That is literally rosin.”
Now, the umpires didn’t buy the explanation. They said after the game that the stickiness level was so extreme that Scherzer deserved an ejection and that the stickiness got worse upon the second check.
More Dan Bellino on Scherzer: "There was something likely more than rosin, was so sticky it was all over the palm, up the inside of the fingers. The entire hand was stickier than anything we'd inspected before and was worse than 2nd inning, when he was told to wash his hand."
— Mike DiGiovanna (@MikeDiGiovanna) April 19, 2023
Of course, the alcohol used to wash Scherzer’s hands could have played a role. But what a strange scene all the way around. Those breakdown videos never get old, though.
