New York Yankees pitcher, Domingo German, has revealed that he will be using less rosin on his hands when he returns to the field after serving a 10-game suspension for allegedly using a foreign substance on the mound. German was suspended by Major League Baseball on May 17th and is set to return to the Yankees’ rotation for Monday’s game in Seattle. In a recent interview, he expressed his desire to avoid being ejected from another game by altering his previous technique.
The suspension came after Germán was ejected in the fourth inning of New York’s 6-3 win in Toronto on May 16th. He retired the first nine hitters before his hands were checked by first-base umpire D.J. Reyburn as Germán headed to the mound for the fourth inning. After the game, the crew chief, James Hoye, said that Germán had “the stickiest hand I’ve ever felt.”
Germán’s suspension was the fourth to be issued since MLB began cracking down on foreign substances in June 2021 and the second this season. New York Mets pitcher Max Scherzer also served a 10-game suspension after being ejected on April 19th in Los Angeles against the Dodgers. In 2021, Seattle’s Hector Santiago and Arizona’s Caleb Smith served suspensions for sticky substances.
Germán’s Plan
German has stated that he has not received a direct explanation on the appropriate amount of rosin to use. He plans to adjust his technique, using less rosin than before, to avoid being ejected from any future games. He said, “You have to do something different because what I did before got me ejected from the game. Probably go back to previous years before where I used it way less.”
Despite the lack of a clear explanation on how much rosin to use, Germán believes he must strike a balance between using the rosin bag and executing pitches effectively. He added, “To me, I have to keep using it, understand how much to use and keep a balance, but at the same time, I’ve got to keep preparing myself to pitch and keep my routine in between starts to get me in the right shape for the next start.”
Yankees manager Aaron Boone acknowledges that it is challenging to define the line between what is acceptable and unacceptable in terms of using foreign substances. However, he emphasized the importance of vigilance in ensuring that Germán and other players do not cross that line. He said, “He has to avoid that, and that’s us being more vigilant and check and make sure we’re in a good spot. We should be fine, but I think that’s the one thing about this: What is the line, there is no defined line, you can’t have sticky [substances] on your hands. So he’s got to be mindful of that.”
Germán’s suspension and his subsequent plan to use less rosin on his hands have brought the issue of foreign substances in baseball to the forefront once again. While it is unclear what constitutes an appropriate amount of rosin to use, it is clear that players must be vigilant and avoid using any sticky substances that could give them an unfair advantage on the field.
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