Pittsburgh Pirates: MLB misses the mark on Rodolfo Castro
On Tuesday, Rodolfo Castro of the Pittsburgh Pirates was suspended for one game after a cell phone fell out of his back pocket during a recent road game against the Arizona Diamondbacks. While many MLB fans joked about the head-shaking moment in the desert, it also shows that MLB’s plans to limit access to technology in the middle of a baseball game still aren’t exactly foolproof.
With just a one-game suspension, MLB missed a chance to make an example out of Rodolfo Castro of the Pittsburgh Pirates
According to a tweet from ESPN’s Jeff Passan, Castro is appealing his suspension, which was limited to just one game because MLB officials seemed to believe that Castro’s claim of forgetfulness was truthful. However, as Passan points out in his tweet, MLB missed a chance to make an example of Castro and ensure that any thoughts of cheating by using a cell phone were quickly and unceremoniously squashed.
Follow-up: MLB examined Rodolfo Castro's phone in the aftermath of it flying out of his pocket and found no usage during the game, sources tell ESPN. Forensic analysis of technology use -- innocent or illicit -- is fair game. Updated story, free at ESPN: https://t.co/yRHTjc1tNw https://t.co/I422AHOY8h
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) August 16, 2022
MLB has had its share of cheating allegations and scandals involving technology in recent years, including the much-discussed Houston Astros scandal. While there is little reason to not believe Castro’s claim of innocence, the incident shows that technology can be taken onto the baseball diamond … and any thought of someone else doing the same and then claiming it to be an accident needs to put to rest before it ever happens.
Castro was certainly in violation of MLB’s policy prohibiting electrical devices in the dugout or on the field, so why not take this moment to lay down a tougher penalty? If MLB wants to walk it back after stating what the harsher penalty is, so be it, but at least let players know what they could be facing if they’re caught in this kind of situation in the future.
It was an accident, right? Isn’t that the same thing that Fernando Tatis Jr. is claiming about “inadvertently” taking the medication for ringworm that ended up getting him suspended for 80 games for testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug?
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After appearing in 58 games for the Pirates over the span of two seasons, a suspension of Castro wouldn’t make a huge impact on the team, especially with Pittsburgh out of postseason contention. However, by shrugging it off as just an “oops” moment, MLB missed the chance to set the bar for potential acts of cheating with technology down the line.