Mariners' Hector Santiago Becomes 1st Player Ejected Under Foreign Substance Rules

Seattle Mariners relief pitcher Hector Santiago was ejected from Sunday's game against the Chicago White Sox following an umpires' check for foreign substances amid MLB's crackdown.

ESPN's Jeff Passan reported the umpires "found something on his glove," which was confiscated. It would be the league's first foreign-substance violation since enforcement of the updated rules began Monday.

Crew chief Tom Hallion explained the ejection after the game.

"He was ejected for when his glove was inspected, for having a foreign substance that was sticky on the inside palm of his glove," Hallion told reporters.

Santiago, however, said all he had used was rosin.

"He said he felt some sticky stuff on the inside of the glove. All I used was rosin," Santiago said. "I used it on both sides, trying to keep that sweat from dripping down to the hands."

MLB announced June 15 it was set to establish a "uniform standard for the consistent application of the rules, including regular checks of all pitchers regardless of whether an opposing club's manager makes a request" regarding the potential use of foreign substances to doctor the baseball.

The new guidelines called for the immediate ejection of any pitcher found with a foreign substance and a potential 10-game suspension for a first violation if confirmed following further review.

Starting pitchers are checked at least once during each start—opposing managers can request additional checks—and relievers are checked after every outing.

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred released a statement about the strict enforcement of the updated rules:

"After an extensive process of repeated warnings without effect, gathering information from current and former players and others across the sport, two months of comprehensive data collection, listening to our fans and thoughtful deliberation, I have determined that new enforcement of foreign substances is needed to level the playing field. I understand there's a history of foreign substances being used on the ball, but what we are seeing today is objectively far different, with much tackier substances being used more frequently than ever before. It has become clear that the use of foreign substance has generally morphed from trying to get a better grip on the ball into something else—an unfair competitive advantage that is creating a lack of action and an uneven playing field."

Santiago entered Sunday's game with a 2.45 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 19 strikeouts in 14.2 innings across eight appearances for the Mariners. He allowed one run across 2.1 innings against the White Sox, one of his former clubs.

Along with Chicago and Seattle, the 33-year-old New Jersey native has also pitched for the Los Angeles Angels, Minnesota Twins and New York Mets during a 10-year MLB career. He made the All-Star Game as a member of the Angels in 2015.