Brewers’ Will Smith tossed for having foreign substance on his arm
Milwaukee Brewers relief pitcher Will Smith was ejected in the seventh inning of Thursday’s 10-1 loss to Atlanta after umpires found a foreign substance on his non-throwing arm.
Smith had just entered the game and hit the first batter he faced, Pedro Ciriaco, with a pitch. The Brewers left-hander then threw a strike to Jace Peterson when Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez asked the umpires to check on Smith. Crew chief Jim Joyce obliged and Smith was promptly ejected when Joyce discovered the shiny substance on the lower part of Smith’s forearm.
According to Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel Brewers beat writer Tom Hadricourt, Smith did not react well to being tossed:
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After the game Smith identified the goop on his arm as a mixture of sunscreen and rosin, which is also know as the Clay Buchholz special:
Based on precedent, additional discipline for Smith is on the way. Last year we saw Yankees right-hander Michael Pineda suspended 10 games for having a glob of pine tar on his neck during a start against the Red Sox.
What’s unusual about these two situations is that pitchers using various substances to help them grip the ball is generally accepted around the league. Our Jeff Passan documented how commonplace it is and how hitters actually prefer that pitchers use something to improve their control because they feel it makes them safer at the plate.
As Passan wrote last season, the key is to be discreet. Even though its clearly against the rules, teams don’t usually care as long as the pitcher isn’t using the substance to gain a competitive advantage. In the case of Pineda, and now Smith, the evidence was just too much for the opposing managers to ignore though.
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Israel Fehr is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter. Follow @israelfehr
