- RELATED:
- Player bio: Julian Tavarez
MLB disciplinarian Bob Watson announced Tuesday that Tavarez was disciplined for doctoring the baseball during a 5-4 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates last Friday.
"It was a very minor thing and I'm shocked that it would be worth 10 days," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said, adding that Tavarez immediately appealed the ruling.
Julian Tavarez, seen with Florida, is suspended 10 days for cheating.(AP Photo)
Tavarez, 31, was ejected in the eighth inning when first-base umpire Joe West discovered pine tar on his grimy ball cap.
It was Pirates manager Lloyd McClendon, for whom Tavarez pitched last year in Pittsburgh, who requested West examine the brim of his cap.
"They asked me if it was pine tar," Tavarez said. "I said, 'No, it's just a dirty hat.'
"Every pitch that I throw, I touch my hat, just like a lot of guys. I go here every pitch that I throw, so my hat gets dirty.
"It's not pine tar. I asked him if I could wear another hat and he was like, 'No, you're out of the game.'"
West contended afterward that Tavarez "admitted it was a foreign substance."
It marked the third time this season that his cap has been checked.
Tavarez is 5-3 with a 2.49 earned-run average and three saves in 61 appearances this season, his first with St. Louis.
The Dominican-born right-hander is 68-51 lifetime with a 4.41 ERA and 16 saves in 552 appearances (79 starts) over 12 MLB seasons with the Cleveland Indians, San Francisco Giants, Colorado Rockies, Chicago Cubs, Florida Marlins, Pirates and Cardinals.
with files from CP Online
