Reds rookie pitcher Graham Ashcraft was walking off the mound after the first inning yesterday when first-base umpire John Tumpane stopped him, checked his hands, and told him to remove his wedding band from his left hand, which is his glove hand.
Ashcraft was rightfully in disbelief but later was seen talking to his manager, David Bell, who told him about an old, obscure rule that MLB was starting to enforce this week.
The pitcher came out in the second inning with his band attached to his necklace.
Our friends at the Cincinnati Enquirer have the details on rule:
It’s not a new rule, but it is something that umpires are now enforcing. According to rule 6.02(c)(7) in the MLB rulebook, “may not attach anything to either hand, any finger or either wrist.” Umpires determine if it should be considered a foreign substance, “but in no case may the pitcher be allowed to pitch with such attachment to his hand, finger or wrist.”
Yeah, that’s weird. Especially since it was his glove hand.
Check out the encounter:
An umpire asked pitcher Graham Ashcraft to take his wedding ring off of his glove hand pic.twitter.com/D5h2oFQVjA
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) June 18, 2022
Bell added that the league had recently sent out a note on how the rule would start being enforced:
“I actually did get a memo about it,” Bell said. “I knew I had. I hadn’t read it super close, so as soon as Graham came off the field, we went and double-checked and there is a rule. They just reminded us recently. I don’t know if it was a new one or a reminder.”
Yeah, that’s still weird.
Twitter had reactions.
