Astros’ Ronel Blanco ejected for ‘stickiest’ glove umpire has ever seen
By Matt EhaltThe cheating Astros are at it again.
Houston starter Ronel Blanco earned an ejection Tuesday night against the Athletics for having “the stickiest” glove first base umpire Erich Bacchus has ever encountered.
Blanco is now open to a possible 10-game suspension.
“I felt something inside the glove,” Bacchus said, according to ESPN. “It was the stickiest stuff I’ve felt on a glove since we’ve been doing this for a few years now.”
MLB umpires began their checks for substances in 2021, and for Blanco’s glove to be that sticky is quite notable — especially due to the Astros’ nefarious history.
Blanco, who threw the first no-hitter of the season in April, ran into issues prior to the fourth inning during his glove check conducted by Bacchus.
The umpires, Blanco and Astros manager Joe Espada eventually all stood on the mound as the examination continued before crew chief Laz Diaz gave Blanco the boot.
Diaz said the glove would be sent to the commissioner’s office, per ESPN.
“Everybody checked the glove to make sure we all had the same thing and he had to get ejected because he had a foreign substance on his glove,” Diaz said, per the outlet.
Diaz added that the umpires did not know what substance Blanco had on his glove, but it violated the rules.
“We don’t determine that,” Diaz said, according to ESPN. “We just felt it was sticky, sticky enough that our fingers got stuck. So now it’s all up to the office on what it was and all that.”
Blanco maintained his innocence.
“Just probably rosin I put on my left arm,” Blanco said via a translator, per ESPN. “Maybe because of the sweat it got into the glove and that’s maybe what they found.”
He added: “What I told them is, ‘If you found something sticky in my glove you should also check my hands because it should also be on my hand. Just check my hand,’ and he didn’t.”
However, Blanco said he did not know it’s illegal to have a sticky substance on his non-throwing arm.
“No, I didn’t know that was illegal,” Blanco said, according to MLB.com. “I see other pitchers come in and do it as well, so I thought that was normal.”
The Astros overcame the early ejection to down the A’s, 2-1, in 10 innings.
Houston was famously embroiled in a sign-stealing scandal, with an MLB probe revealing in 2020 that the Astros stole signs electronically during the 2017 regular season and postseason en route to a World Series win.
