Mets pitcher Drew Smith was suspended for 10 games by Major League Baseball on Wednesday, the fifth MLB pitcher and second on the Mets penalized for using banned sticky stuff.
The penalty was announced by MLB senior vice president for on-field operations Michael Hill, one day after Smith entered in the seventh inning of a Subway Series game against the Yankees at Citi Field and was ejected without throwing a pitch.
Smith declined to appeal the discipline to John McHale Jr., a special assistant to baseball commissioner Rob Manfred, and started serving the penalty Wednesday night.
“They said both of my hands were too sticky,” Smith said following the Mets’ 7-6 loss. “Really surprised, because I haven’t done anything different all year. Sweat and rosin. I don’t know what else to say. Nothing changed. It’s just, I think the process is so arbitrary. It can change from one crew to the other, and I think that’s the main issue.”
