Joel Peralta Slapped With 8-Game Suspension

Joel Peralta was booted from a game the other day when Davey Johnson asked umpires to inspect his glove, and they found a foreign substance. Pitchers aren’t allowed to mess around with anything other than their own blood, sweat, and tears, and even those aren’t allowed to get on the baseball. Peralta’s glove was confiscated, Peralta himself was ejected, and Johnson and Joe Maddon became involved in a delightfully old-person war of words.

But while the highlight so far has probably been Johnson referring to Maddon as “a weird wuss,” Peralta hasn’t been laughing. He’s been facing discipline from the league, and now we have a ruling:

Eight games makes for a pretty hefty suspension, especially considering that Cole Hamels got five games for admitting that he threw at Bryce Harper. Major League Baseball takes cheating seriously, when it gets caught, and the Rays will have to be without one of their best relievers for somewhere around a week, depending on Peralta’s appeal.

Davey Johnson and the Nationals intended to use prior knowledge to burn Peralta in one game. They’ve burned him in several games. Is there a word for bonus rewards that you don’t really care about? That’s what the Nationals got.