Major League Baseball suspended Arizona Diamondbacks left-hander Caleb Smith 10 games and fined him an undisclosed amount Tuesday for having a foreign substance on his glove.
Smith, 30, was thrown out of an Aug. 18 game against the visiting Philadelphia Phillies after umpires inspected his mitt. The glove was confiscated and sent to the league offices in New York for testing.
Smith is appealing the suspension, which was set to begin with Tuesday night’s contest against the host Pittsburgh Pirates.
After his ejection last week, Smith told ArizonaSports.com that the spots umpires noticed on his glove were dirt.
“The inside of my glove is baby blue. (The umpire) checked it the first time and everything was fine,” he said. “If I was cheating and I got caught, I would own up to it, but I was not. I am really (ticked).”
Earlier this summer, MLB asked umpires to begin inspecting the gloves and caps of pitchers to make sure foreign substances aren’t being used to doctor baseballs.
Smith is 4-8 with a 5.20 ERA in 34 games (13 starts) this year for Arizona. He has struck out 110 batters and walked 56 in 97 innings.
–Field Level Media