Less than 24 hours after Ronel Blanco was discovered with a foreign substance in his glove, Major League Baseball has issued its conclusion on the matter.
Blanco, the Houston Astros’ right-hander, was tossed from Tuesday’s game against the Oakland Athletics. At the top of the fourth inning, the umpires performed a foreign-substance check on Blanco and discovered sticky material within his glove.
Ronel Blanco was ejected tonight after umpires found a foreign substance in his glove pic.twitter.com/IYZINszzE4
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) May 15, 2024
First base umpire Erich Bacchus later described the substance inside Blanco’s glove as “the stickiest stuff I’ve felt.”
First-base umpire Erich Bacchus conducted the glove check on Ronel Blanco. He told pool reporter @kristieAP that "It was the stickiest stuff I’ve felt on a glove since we’ve been doing this for a few years now."
— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) May 15, 2024
Blanco’s sentence was revealed on Wednesday by the league administration. He is suspended for ten games and fined an undisclosed amount. Blanco can begin serving his punishment on Wednesday night, but he also has the option to appeal.
Blanco, 30, had been one of the better stories of the season for the struggling Astros (17-25). He tossed a no-hitter in his first start of the season and came close to making it two no-hitters in a row, which is extremely unlikely. Blanco is 4-0 in 2024, with a 2.09 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP.
A foreign substance violation typically results in a ten-game ban and a fine in the MLB. But this experience with Blanco will do little to change the Astros’ long-standing reputation as cheaters.
