For the first time this season, the New York Yankees got the best of the Minnesota Twins. The result, however, wasn’t without intense controversy.
After pitching three perfect innings, Yankees starter Domingo German was checked by the entire umpiring crew to see if he was using any substances on the mound.
Rocco Baldelli believed he did, and took exception to the fact that German had been asked to wash his hands but seemingly didn’t comply. Despite a lengthy discussion, German was allowed to pitch the fourth inning which resulted in Baldelli being ejected when he left the dugout to argue the decision.
After the game, crew chief James Hoye explained the decision to not eject German despite it looking like he was using a foreign substance to help his pitches.
Hoye confirmed suspicions that German was using rosin, but said it wasn’t an ejectionable offense.
Crew chief defends decision to not eject Domingo German after cheating accusation
"In that situation, it was like, ‘This is not an ejectable offense,' because we didn’t feel it rose to foreign substance standard of affecting the flight, affecting his pitching. That’s why we didn’t eject him,” Hoye said.
There’s no denying that German was using something on the mound, as everyone seems to admit as much. What’s alarming is the fact that he was given perhaps too much courtesy after violating the rules, which is what caused Baldelli to lose his cool.
Crew chief James Hoye spoke to a pool reporter.
— Betsy Helfand (@betsyhelfand) April 15, 2023
He said he felt some rosin on Germán's hand and asked him to clean it up mid-third. When he checked him again, there was still some tackiness on his pinky.
But they determined it was just rosin and not an illegal substance.
Minnesota eventually lost the game 6-1, and German pitched a few more innings before being taken out.
It doesn’t sound like much more will come of this, as everyone appears to be moving on after voicing their frustration or defending their decision. Zooming back from the controversy, the Twins took two huge games in the Bronx in a way that seems to indicate they’re a different team this year.
As much as the controversy mares this one game, the key takeaway remains that the Twins are clearly in the Yankees head in a way they’ve never been before.