ARLINGTON, Texas — Jacob deGrom was stopped coming off the mound after retiring the side in order in the first inning, and chuckled as he handed his glove and cap over to the umpire.
The search is on for unauthorized foreign substances that pitchers can use to doctor baseballs, long against the rules but rarely enforced until now.
I handed them that stuff and then went along my way,” said deGrom, the first to get inspected since he was the first pitcher to take the mound on the day baseball’s new enforcement directive went into effect.
Both were smiling after getting inspected on the field, and then getting a tap on the chest from plate umpire Dan Iassogna.
Manfred said last week that the enforcement of foreign substances was needed “to level the playing field” after two months of comprehensive data collection, including inspections of balls used in games and testing by third-party inspectors.
Fans at Citi Field booed loudly when plate umpire Ben May halted deGrom on the pitcher’s path off the field after the right-hander had two strikeouts in the first inning.
DeGrom appeared to ask May after the top of the second if he’d need to be inspected again, but May waved him on that time.
“I think the biggest thing we wanted to reiterate is if you get popped, we can’t replace you,” he said Monday from New York.
“So the information so far in the last 10 days, batting average has gone up, on-base has gone up, has gone up.
Just how you get to it some days, you know, you’re dealing with competitive people and sometimes you get your ire up a little bit or something.