When Major League Baseball trained its umpires to better enforce the sticky stuff, the company conducted a test, league sources said. Several people stood in a line, substances applied to their hands.
Some test cases used Spider Tack, others sweat and rosin, others pine tar, and so on, without being told which was which. Their instructions were simple: if the hand was sticky, ejection was justified.
“It actually wasn’t difficult,” said one participant.
The ejection standard is actually quite simple, as Mets get closer Edwin Diaz discovered Sunday evening in Chicago: Sticky means eject.
There is no “too sticky” in MLB rules. It’s binary, a yes or no.
In fairness to pitchers, the larger issue of grip is much more complex. Many say off the record that their need to grip the ball tighter without substance is the biggest factor in injury outcomes, far more than just the field clock.
But that’s largely a valid discussion for another day. Under the current rules, Diaz’s foul was clear.
He claimed he only used resin and sweat, but crew chief Vic Carapazza told a pool reporter, “It definitely wasn’t resin and sweat. We checked thousands of them. I know what that feeling is. This was very sticky.”
Umpire at second base Brian Walsh that Diaz has thrown has never thrown sticky stuff before. There have only been eight sticky stuff ejections in all of MLB since increased enforcement began in 2021, and two this season.
Referees are not careful in their hunt for fouls. But sticky is sticky and cannot be ignored. When there is an eviction, the violation is flagrant.
In some cases, pitchers – the Yankees’ Clarke Schmidt I think of last year: they were allowed to wash their hands. But according to someone with direct knowledge of these incidents, that possibility comes when the hand or glove is discolored but not sticky, or sticky without being sticky (the difference between sticky and sticky during the referee training process was clear; this is not a gray area ).
According to a league source, MLB ordered umpires to randomize inspections last season because their patterns had become too predictable. As a result, all six sticky stuff ejections in 2023 and 2024 occurred as the pitcher entered the field, rather than as he left it at the end of an inning.
Diaz is well-liked in the clubhouse and around the game, but his offense puts the Mets in a tough spot. He is suspended for ten matches and is manager Carlos Mendoza will have to navigate a crucial stretch of the season not only without his star closer, but also with a pitcher on his staff.
Scheduling decisions will also be difficult. For example, it’s possible the Mets will have to consider an option David Peterson to Triple-A after his start on Tuesday, to get a fresh arm for a depleted bullpen.
If not, other roster challenges will arise as the team tries to navigate 10 games with one less pitcher.
