Well, well, well … what do we have here?
There were some interesting developments during Thursday’s game between the Minnesota Twins and Tampa Bay Rays, as the umpiring crew forced Twins starting pitcher Bailey Ober to go back into the dugout to wash his hands.
Through three innings of the game, Ober struck out six Tampa Bay Rays. He was absolutely lights out.
Bailey Ober, K’ing the Side in the 2nd. pic.twitter.com/anYShq3wUS
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 8, 2023
So much so, that it forced the umpires to check his hands and glove.
Before giving up the lead, umpires made Twins starter Bailey Ober wash his hands. He was perfect through three prior to this pic.twitter.com/HsEeXoTKL2
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) June 8, 2023
The umpires didn’t like what they found, and as a result, they sent Ober to the dugout and made him wash his hands. Afterwards, Ober’s perfect game went completely down the toilet, allowing a single, which led to a triple and then he gave up a home run after that.
Here’s what Ober had to say after the Twins 4-2 defeat (with Ober getting the loss):
“It got in my head a little bit that I didn’t feel safe out there. … If he checks me again and he’s a little ticked off [he] could toss me.”
Bailey Ober says he wasn’t “super rattled” after being asked to wash his hands because of too much sweat and rosin, but it impacted him. pic.twitter.com/26pXiPKmSV
— Bally Sports North (@BallySportsNOR) June 8, 2023
So now we have to ask the question … was Bailey Ober cheating?
It’s certainly weird what happened. He was perfect through three innings, and then when he has to wash his hands, his game goes completely out of whack. I don’t want to accuse him of cheating because there’s no evidence of that. It could be something as simple as he was mentally thrown off after the altercation with the umps and that’s it. It happens.
But man … some bizarre stuff nonetheless. (RELATED: Florida Panthers First Team In 20 Years To Go 7-0 In OT Playoff Games, Joining Only 2003 Mighty Ducks To Do So)
That’s all I’m gonna say.