New York Mets fans furious as Max Scherzer ejected from start following umpire inspection for illegal sticky substances: "This league is embarrassing"
Max Scherzer of the New York Mets was dismissed from his start against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday before the start of the fourth inning due to an umpire check for illegal sticky substances.
An inning later, crew chief Phil Cuzzi examined Scherzer's hand and glove, and the Mets pitcher was instructed to change his glove before returning for the fourth inning.
Max Scherzer was ejected between innings after a heated conversation with the umpiring crew https://t.co/mqMkOnzchb
Upon stepping out onto the field for the bottom of the fourth, Scherzer was inspected again by Cuzzi and plate umpire Dan Bellino.
In several video clips of the incident, the Mets top pitcher appeared to be saying "It's just rosin" to both game officials.
After a period of debate, as manager Buck Showalter joined the fray, a highly animated Scherzer was given the hook by Cuzzi.
NY #Mets ace Max Scherzer ejected from the Dodgers game for apparently having an illegal foreign substance on his glove.
Mets fans keyed on Max Scherzer repeatedly appearing to say "rosin" before his ejection. Rosin is a legal substance in baseball, and many pitchers have a full bag of it out on the mound.
The Mets ace, whose start was pushed back three days to Wednesday as he recovered from discomfort beneath his scapula, lasted just 47 pitches before his ejection.
@SNYtv @MBrownstein89 I read his lips very clearly and the 2 things i picked up were "you dont know anything" and "rosin"
@SNYtv You can read the lips when he’s says “It’s just Rosin”
@BNightengale Say it’s rosin then it’s okay
Many members of Mets Nation cried "foul," pointing to the parallels between Scherzer and another Big Apple hurler, New York Yankees starting pitcher Domingo German.
German, who was in the midst of tossing one of his best career games for the Yankees against the Minnesota Twins over the weekend, was checked by umpires for illegal substances.
However, German was told simply to go wash his hands and allowed to stay in the game. Instead of the Yankees pitcher being tossed, it was Twins manager Rocco Baldelli who got the ejection for arguing that German be ejected.
@BNightengale He's playing for the wrong new York team. Wouldn't have happened if he played for the cheating Yankees
@BNightengale When the Mets do it, the pitcher gets ejected. When the Yankees do it, the manager on the other team gets ejected https://t.co/2ScWiJn1WS
@SNYtv But they don’t throw the Yankee out, sure
Still, others decried MLB umpires' seeming need to interject themselves into games. Many fans turned on Wednesday's Dodgers/Mets game due to the interest of seeing former Dodger Max Scherzer face former Met Noah Syndergaard on the mound. That pitching matchup was cut short after Scherzer's ejection.
@SNYtv It was tape. These umps are awful
@SNYtv Nice ump show. Was that on the ticket as a special today?
@BNightengale It’s his second glove the umps just wanna be part of the game
Mets fans will stand by Scherzer, no matter what.
@BNightengale I speak for all Mets fans when we say Scherzer is innocent!
Max Scherzer in second season atop Mets rotation
Scherzer is in the second season of a three-year, $130 million contract with the Mets. Entering Wednesday, he was 2-1 on the season with a 4.41 ERA.