Baseball Reddit reacts to Drew Smith saying MLB official didn't find any sticky substance on his hand after he was ejected: "The ump show rolls on"

New York Mets pitcher Drew Smith was ejected before his first pitch on Tuesday. He was coming out of the bullpen in the seventh inning when the umpire checked his hand for sticky substances.

The umpiring crew determined his hand was too sticky, and they ejected him. Afterwards, Smith stated that an MLB official checked his hand in the tunnel and didn't find anything worthy of an ejection.

[SNYtv] Drew Smith says he had an MLB official check his hands in the tunnel after his ejection. He says the official laughed and said there was "nothing there." by u/LucasDudacris in baseball

Smith was in disbelief when he was ejected. He turned to all four umpires motioning for them to recheck his hand. When they didn't, he turned to his teammates huddled behind him and told them to check his hands.

Smith will receive a 10-game suspension for the ejection. Now, the Mets will have to scramble and find an arm to help them out of the bullpen in Smith's absence.

"The ump show rolls on" - one fan posted.

Comment by u/PeatBomb from discussion [SNYtv] Drew Smith says he had an MLB official check his hands in the tunnel after his ejection. He says the official laughed and said there was "nothing there." in baseball

"I understand it's tough to quantify stickiness, but MLB is a multi billion dollar organization. I'm confident they can come up with a better solution than what's currently happening. This is silly" - another fan posted.

Comment by u/takespicturesofpants from discussion [SNYtv] Drew Smith says he had an MLB official check his hands in the tunnel after his ejection. He says the official laughed and said there was "nothing there." in baseball

Comment by u/Guymcpersonman from discussion [SNYtv] Drew Smith says he had an MLB official check his hands in the tunnel after his ejection. He says the official laughed and said there was "nothing there." in baseball

Comment by u/grubas from discussion [SNYtv] Drew Smith says he had an MLB official check his hands in the tunnel after his ejection. He says the official laughed and said there was "nothing there." in baseball

Baseball Reddit wants the league to get a handle on this situation. There's no clear way to measure how sticky someone's hand is. These ejections have been a black eye on the sport this season.

Comment by u/yungmoneybingbong from discussion [SNYtv] Drew Smith says he had an MLB official check his hands in the tunnel after his ejection. He says the official laughed and said there was "nothing there." in baseball

Comment by u/ColbyOG from discussion [SNYtv] Drew Smith says he had an MLB official check his hands in the tunnel after his ejection. He says the official laughed and said there was "nothing there." in baseball

Comment by u/daniel_j_saint from discussion [SNYtv] Drew Smith says he had an MLB official check his hands in the tunnel after his ejection. He says the official laughed and said there was "nothing there." in baseball

Comment by u/jamsterDAMN from discussion [SNYtv] Drew Smith says he had an MLB official check his hands in the tunnel after his ejection. He says the official laughed and said there was "nothing there." in baseball

Comment by u/Doc-Spock from discussion [SNYtv] Drew Smith says he had an MLB official check his hands in the tunnel after his ejection. He says the official laughed and said there was "nothing there." in baseball

Fans are confused why the umpiring crew didn't ask Drew Smith to wash his hands rather than ejecting him. Other pitchers have been granted the opportunity, so why not him?

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New York Mets pitcher Drew Smith's ejection could have been avoided

Wild Card Series - San Diego Padres v New York Mets - Game Three

Drew Smith's ejection on Tuesday was the New York Mets' second ejection of its kind. Max Scherzer was ejected for a sticky substance and received a 10-game suspension earlier in the season.

Scherzer tried appealing his suspension to no avail. The league will likely uphold their decision if Smith was to appeal the suspension.

All of this could have been avoided if the league created a better substance for pitchers to use. Given how slick an MLB ball is, rosin alone doesn't cut it.

The league could also fix this problem by creating a tackier baseball. Baseballs from the Nippon Professional League come pre-tacked, making it easier for pitchers to grip.

Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be the priority, so expect to see more of these ejections as the season plays out.