New York Yankees right-hander Domingo German has been handed a 10-game suspension and an undisclosed fine for violating Major League Baseball policies regarding the use of foreign substances.
The German won’t appeal the league’s decision and will start his suspension on Wednesday.
German escaped a sticky substance ejection last month but couldn’t make it out another Tuesday night.
German had retired all nine Blue Jays batters he faced on 37 pitches, but before he could take the mound for the bottom of the fourth inning, he was intercepted by the umpires.
They spent some time feeling his right hand and checking his glove for a suspected illegal substance before meeting to discuss their findings.
Domingo German landed in New York with more allegations to deal with after being deported
The German was intercepted by the referees as he was about to take the mound for the fourth inning
Their findings earned the German an ejection, which was followed by a 10-game suspension and means the Yankees cannot replace him on the roster.
Team manager James Hoye said German’s hand was “the stickiest I’ve ever felt”, adding that the substance was “definitely not rosin”.
“The moment I looked at his hand, it was extremely shiny and extremely sticky,” the team manager told a poolside reporter after the Yankees beat Toronto 6-3 on Tuesday night. “It’s the stickiest hand I’ve ever felt. My fingers had a hard time getting away from his palm.
German denied Hoye’s accusation, saying he had nothing on hand but rosin.
“It was definitely just the rosin bag,” German said through a translator. “It was sweat and the bag of rosin. I don’t need any extra help grabbing the baseball.
The team of referees, led by Chief Hoye, was the same team that challenged German’s sticky hand on April 15 at Yankees Stadium.
In this case, the German was allowed to stay in the match, despite being told to remove the rosin after the start of the third inning and still had some on his little finger to start the fourth.
The German didn’t have that pity on Tuesday with Ian Hamilton forced to replace him as the Yankees led 2-0.
The right-hander retired all nine Blue Jays batters he faced on 37 pitches before the fourth
German is the second pitcher to receive a 10-game suspension for using an illegal substance this season, joining Max Scherzer of the New York Mets, who was ejected from a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers in mid-April. .
In nine starts this season, the German is 2-3 with a 3.75 ERA.
The suspension comes amid a wave of controversy for the Yankees after Aaron Judge was accused of cheating by the Blue Jays in Game 1 on Monday.
On Monday, the Yankees slugger looked sideways for a moment before driving a 114.9 mph scorcher over right-hander Jay Jackson.
The judge said he was trying to identify which of his Yankees teammates was yelling at home plate umpire Clint Vondrak when he peeked into his own dugout before hitting a 462-foot homer in Toronto Monday evening.
“There was a lot of chirping from our dugout, which I really didn’t like about the situation,” Judge said. New York led 6-0 at the time and then won 7-4.
Toronto broadcasters noticed Judge peeking into his own dugout before his tour and assumed he was looking for some kind of signal.
Aaron Judge was asked about staring at the bench during a batting game in the previous game
After glancing off the bench, the judge completed a 462ft home run with an exit speed of 114.9mph
Moments before, Aaron Boone had yelled at plate umpire Clint Vondrak during the game
While Boone was doing his was off the field, the Yankees team was apparently still calling
Three pitches earlier, Vondrak ejected Boone for arguing a low punch call to the judge. Boone got out of the dugout to vent on Vondrak and Team Leader Hoye.
Judge said some of his teammates were still expressing their annoyance at the back of the Boone line as his fight continued.
“I feel like after the manager does his thing, it’s like, ‘Guys, our pitcher still has to go out there and throw some pitches. We have the lead, just going to work here,” Judge said.
“I said a few things to some guys in the dugout and especially after the game. I hope this won’t happen again.