The First New “Sticky Stuff” Suspension Is Handed to Hector Santiago (But MLB Might’ve Already Goofed)

On Sunday, Mariners lefty Hector Santiago became the first pitcher booted from the game under MLB’s new sticky stuff investigative authority and enhanced enforcement procedure (we’ve got to work on the nomenclature). In case you missed it, Santiago was undergoing the standard check as he left his appearance when umpires spotted something, confiscated his glove, and tossed him from the game.

And today, he became the first pitcher – again, under these new rules – to receive the outlined punishment: A 10-game suspension (with pay), during which his team is *not* allowed to replace him on the roster.

But alas. Nothing is ever easy. That punishment was supposed to begin tonight, per the announcement below, however …

… Santiago is appealing the ruling, and reportedly claims to have been using only sweat and rosin. An argument strengthened by the fact that MLB reportedly did not test the glove further.

What a cluster. MLB really whiffed on that one.

Am I confident that Santiago is telling the truth? Uh, no. I’m not. I have no idea if he was cheating or not, but I am confident that pitchers are still going to try, and there’s no reason it couldn’t be him. I’m also fairly confident that the umpires probably did spot something, either during his performance or after they grabbed his glove. But that’s precisely why they should’ve tested it further, because now the appeal has a pretty good case.

Perhaps this is just a hard-learned lesson for MLB, who can do more due diligence the next time around?

But while MLB may have goofed up on this first, highly publicized rule enforcement, it’s tough to say there hasn’t already been an impact. You can’t read an article or scroll Twitter without finding new stats about how RPMs are down across the league, so clearly there’s been some effect. Hopefully, MLB finds a way to clean this one up quickly and other pitchers don’t become emboldened to test their luck. Stay tuned for more.

written by

Michael Cerami began covering the Chicago Cubs for Bleacher Nation as a part-time contributor in 2015. One year later, he joined Bleacher Nation full-time, covering the Chicago Cubs and Major League Baseball. Today, Michael runs Bleacher Nation, contributing as a writer (Cubs, MLB) and an editor for all sections of the site, including the Chicago Bears, Bulls, and Blackhawks, as well as MLB, NBA, NHL, and NFL. In 2019, Michael was the co-host of NBC Sports Chicago's Cubs Post-Game Show Outside the Ivy. You can find him on Twitter/X @Michael_Cerami

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