“He's a con artist” - When Nationals GM Mike Rizzo called out former Phillies manager Joe Girardi over on-field controversy with Max Scherzer
In 2021, during the Spider Tack sticky stuff debacle, Philadelphia Phillies manager Joe Girardi prompted officials to check Max Scherzer for foreign substances. At the time, it was rumored that a ton of pitchers were using illegal substances and MLB was attempting to crack down on it.
That got Washington Nationals GM Mike Rizzo pretty upset. He went after Girardi after the game, suggesting that he was being disingenuous in his request and he was not happy.
Rizzo said via ESPN:
"He's a con artist ... he's been doing that for years on TV... It's embarrassing for Girardi, it's embarrassing for the Phillies, it's embarrassing for baseball."
He continued, admitting he knew what game Girardi was playing, but that there was no positive to be gained from any of it:
"It had nothing to do with substances, he had no probable cause to ask for it. The umps shouldn't have allowed it, but it happened and you have to deal with it. This is what we're going to have to deal with. You think you're going to intimidate a Max Scherzer, it's just not going to happen. You're just going to piss him off and make him concentrate that much harder."
Ultimately, nothing came of the issue, as Scherzer was not deemed to be in violation of the rules.
Dave Dombrowski backed Joe Girardi amid Mike Rizzo spat
Via ESPN, Dave Dombrowski, president of the Phillies, backed his manager at that time. He said that Rizzo's comments were not at all accurate to the person he knew Girardi to be:
"That's not Joe Girardi. It's totally improper for [Rizzo] to say that. ... Joe Girardi is the farthest from a con man of anybody that I know. He's a very sincere individual. He was within his rights.''
Ultimately, the MLB got together with the umpires and deemed that Girardi's request was legitimate and that he didn't do anything wrong. Since that crackdown, most pitchers have been clean and only a few have used substances, but Scherzer did get suspended once with the New York Mets for the substances being found on his hands.