A pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds was intensely upset when the umpires for a Major League Baseball game forced him to remove his wedding ring, despite the fact that it was actually on his glove hand.
This past Saturday, Graham Ashcraft was told that before he could take the mound in a game against the Milwaukee Brewers that he was not allowed to wear the symbol of his love for his wife as a result of a foreign substances check that took place in the first inning. The right-handed pitcher was flabbergasted at what he heard, as reported by USA Today.
“He goes, ‘you have to take your ring off,'” Ashcraft stated once the game was over. “I was like, ‘no, why do I have to take my ring off? I shouldn’t have to.’ Apparently, it’s some new rule they came up with yesterday.”
An umpire asked pitcher Graham Ashcraft to take his wedding ring off of his glove hand pic.twitter.com/D5h2oFQVjA
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) June 18, 2022
Ashcraft’s wedding ring is made out of black silicone.
This now being enforced rule came in the wake of a warning from the MLB this week that it would be starting to enforce a rule against all hand, finger, and wrist attachments. The rule was originally designed to put a stop to any pitchers who would hide foreign materials on their hands that they would then be able to transfer to the ball in an attempt to change the way in which it spins as it heads towards home plate.
As read from the MLB rulebook, Rule 6.02(c)(7) states that pitchers “may not attach anything to either hand, any finger or either wrist.” Umpires currently have the discretion to make the choice about whether or not any such attachment would be officially considered a foreign substance, “but in no case may the pitcher be allowed to pitch with such attachment to his hand, finger or wrist.”
The rule has been in place for quite a while, but many umpires had not known they needed to enforce it. David Bell, the manager for the Reds, stated that a memo was sent out to all of the teams earlier that week that the rule would start being enforced.
“I actually did get a memo about it,” Bell stated. “I knew I had. I hadn’t read it super close, so as soon as Graham came off the field, we went and double-checked and there is a rule. They just reminded us recently. I don’t know if it was a new one or a reminder.”
Ashcraft complied with the ruling on the field and got shelled, managing to give up eight hits and six runs as the Reds lost by a score of 7-3.
Ashcraft, who is a rookie at the age of 24, is currently having a fairly strong season with a 3-1 record and has managed to secure a 3.51 earned run average since being pulled up from the minor league as of May 20th.
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