Washington Nationals: Max Scherzer is all of us with pitcher checks

Major League Baseball’s ridiculous decision to suddenly begin checking pitchers for foreign substances has done absolutely nothing but cause annoyance. The umpires, who have been tasked with these checks, do not seem to want to do them. While some players are turning this into more of a farce than it actually is (unbuckling their pants, coughing, handing over random pieces of equipment, and so forth) most are begrudgingly tolerating it. Others, such as Washington Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer, find it to be the asinine exercise that most of the fans seem to regard it as.

On Tuesday, Scherzer was essentially all of us as he was reminded that he needed to be checked after the first inning, looking utterly furious as the inspection was performed.

Washington Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer is all of us

Scherzer certainly did not hide his annoyance with this new rule. The umpires almost seemed apologetic, perhaps fearing his wrath as the steam was clearing streaming from his ears. As it was, he may have had the fastest check of any pitcher since this rule was implemented, as the umpires clearly did not want to hold him up much longer.

As annoyed as Scherzer was after that first check, he was outright furious in his second. After striking out Alec Bohm in the fourth inning, Phillies manager Joe Girardi asked the umpires to check Scherzer again. That previous annoyance turned into potentially murderous fury.

Scherzer flipped his cap and glove to the ground and undid his belt as the umpires headed towards the mound, telling them exactly what he thought about their check and the new rule. Nationals’ manager Davey Martinez also came out to see why his ace was being checked again, leading to a jawing match between the managers.

One has to wonder how long this nonsense will continue. If MLB persists with these checks all season, it may add more fuel to what could already be a brutal offseason as a new Collective Bargaining Agreement needs to be ironed out. The players and union do not seem to have any use for commissioner Rob Manfred, and decrees such as this do not help matters at all.

Washington Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer is obviously not a fan of the random checks for foreign substances. And he is not the only one to feel that way.