When Major League Baseball trained its umpires for enhanced sticky stuff enforcement, it conducted a test, according to league sources. Several people stood in a line, substances applied to their hands.
Some of the 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, an ejection was warranted.
“It was actually not hard,” said one person who participated.
The standard for ejection, in fact, is quite simple, as Mets closer Edwin Diaz found out on Sunday night in Chicago: Sticky means ejection.
In MLB’s rules, there is no “too sticky.” It’s binary, a yes or no.
In fairness to pitchers, the larger issue of grip is far more complex. Many say off the record that their need to grip the ball tighter without a substance is the single biggest factor in the rash of injuries, much more so than than the pitch clock.
But that is largely a valid discussion for another day. Under the current rules, Diaz’ violation was clear.
He claimed that he used only rosin and sweat, but crew chief Vic Carapazza told a pool reporter, “It definitely wasn’t rosin and sweat. We’ve checked thousands of these. I know what that feeling is. This was very sticky.”
Second base umpire Brian Walsh, who ejected Diaz, has never before issued a sticky stuff ejection. MLB-wide, there have been just eight sticky stuff ejections since increased enforcement began in 2021, and two this season.
Umpires are not trigger-happy in their hunt for violations. But sticky is sticky, and can’t be ignored. When an ejection comes, the violation is egregious.
In a few instances, pitchers — the Yankees’ Clarke Schmidt last year comes to mind — were allowed to wash their hands. But according to a person with direct knowledge of these incidents, that option comes when the hand or glove is discolored but not sticky, or tacky without being sticky (the difference between tacky and sticky during the umpire training process was clear; this is not a gray area).
Last season, according to a league source, MLB instructed umpires to randomize inspections, because their patterns had become too predictable. As a result, all six sticky stuff ejections in 2023 and 2024 have occurred when the pitcher came onto the field, rather than when he was leaving it at the end of an inning.
Diaz is well-liked in the clubhouse and around the game, but his violation puts the Mets in a difficult spot. He will be suspended for 10 games, and manager Carlos Mendoza will have to navigate a crucial stretch of the season not only without his star closer, but down a pitcher on his staff.
Roster decisions will also be tricky. It’s possible, for example, that the Mets will have to consider optioning David Peterson to Triple-A after his start on Tuesday, in order to get a fresh arm for a depleted bullpen.
If not that, other roster challenges will present themselves, as the team tries to navigate life for 10 games with one fewer pitcher.
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