Just when you would think that Domingo German would learn, he didn’t.
One month after not being ejected in a game at Yankee Stadium against the Minnesota Twins, the New York Yankees’ pitcher’s luck ran out against the Toronto Blue Jays Tuesday night. After three perfect innings against the Blue Jays, German had his hands and glove checked by first base umpire D.J. Reyburn as he headed to the mound in the bottom of the fourth inning.
It’s clear that Reyburn and the rest of the four-man crew found something on German to eject him. This is not his first run-in with the same umpiring crew and you could say that they were looking for something.
Yankees: German clearly didn’t learn after the Twins incident one month ago
On April 15, German was checked by crew chief James Hoye after retiring the first 16 Twins’ batters. Hoye checked German and appeared to tell the right-hander to wash his hands in between innings. When German went back out for the fourth inning, Hoye checked him again and, after a lengthy discussion, allowed him to stay in the game. German said after the game that it was a “rosin bag misunderstanding.’’
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that there was something clearly on German’s hands or glove that made Hoye tell him to wash his hands. If there was something there and he got away with it by being allowed to stay in the game, then good for him. However, he has to have a better clue than what he appeared to have against Toronto.
German knew before he took to the mound for his start who the umpiring crew was. He was in the dugout Monday night in the Yankees’ 7-4 series-opening win watching, so he knew who he would be dealing with, yet he still put himself in this situation. It appeared that he had some type of substance on his pants on his right hip, but after the game, Hoye commented on the stickiness of German’s hands.
Crew chief James Hoye said that Domingo German’s hand was the “stickiest I’ve ever felt” and that it was “definitely not rosin.”
— Bryan Hoch ⚾️ (@BryanHoch) May 17, 2023
If there was something found, then shame on German. First of all, you have to know that after the interaction a month earlier that they would be keeping a close eye on him. Second, the fact he would risk getting caught in some way is mind-boggling. Normally checks are done after an inning on the mound, but this one was done as he went out for the fourth inning. Maybe this time he’ll learn, but you would have thought that after the incident in April to be more careful. He wasn’t.
He is going to get suspended, for at least 10 games as Max Scherzer did in April when he was ejected against the Los Angeles Dodgers. A suspension is going to be hard for the Yankees to deal with. Their rotation is already missing key parts and to compound matters, New York will not be able to replace German on the roster and will have to play the games one pitcher short. That is going to force manager Aaron Boone to do what he did Monday against Toronto, using an “opener’’ for a game or two. Not ideal for a team that was starting to turn the corner and are winners of four of their last six games and New York needs the 31-year-old to not put them in this situation again.
He needs to get a clue and for the rest of this season and his career, all umpiring crews will be paying extra attention to the righthander and rightfully so.