MLB Suspends Tampa Bay Rays Pitcher Joel Peralta 8 Games for Pine Tar on Glove

Major League Baseball has suspended Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Joel Peralta eight games for having pine tar on his glove during Tuesday's game against the Washington Nationals, according to MLB.com.

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BREAKING: Rays reliever Joel Peralta suspended 8 games for possessing a foreign substance on his glove on Tuesday. He has appealed.

— MLB (@MLB) June 21, 2012"

In case you missed it, Peralta was coming into the game in the eighth inning. As he was warming up, Nationals manager Davey Johnson told the umpires to look at Peralta's glove. They found what crew chief Tim Tschida described as "a significant amount of pine tar" and threw Peralta out of the game before he threw a pitch. 

Rays manager Joe Maddon was livid about the incident, saying before Wednesday's game that the incident should make free agents think twice before signing with the Nationals since they sold one of their former players out. 

Peralta played with the Nationals in 2010. Johnson did not become manager of the team until midway through the 2011 season, but he was working with the team during Peralta's tenure and likely had knowledge of Peralta's habits. 

It will be interesting to see how Major League Baseball handles the appeal. Sometimes, when a pitcher is suspended for throwing at a player, the league will suspend him an extra game and reduce it in the appeal to make it look like they held firm. 

However, a foreign substance on the glove that can be used to help the ball move around in the zone and give the pitcher an unfair advantage is not likely to sit well with the people making the final decision. 

At least Peralta had enough sense to wear Jeremy Hellickson's glove when he pitched in Wednesday's game. 

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