Foreign-substance ban on Korean minor league pitcher reduced after appeal

Minnesota Twins pitcher Go Woo-suk looks to the field before a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs in Chicago, July 19. AP-Yonhap

A recent 10-game suspension on Minnesota Twins minor league pitcher Go Woo-suk has been cut to eight games, the Korean pitcher's agency said Monday.

Leeco Sports Agency said Go's appeal through the players' union resulted in the reduction of the ban. It was handed down on July 25 (U.S. time), a day after Go was ejected from a Triple-A game for having an illegal substance in his glove.

Major League Baseball (MLB) began cracking down on pitchers across the majors and the minors applying foreign substances on baseballs during the 2021 season, in order to prevent them from applying extra spin and movement on their pitches. Umpires inspect pitchers' hands and gloves between innings and after pitching changes.

Those who are caught with a banned substance are subject to automatic ejection and a mandatory 10-game ban.

U.S. reports claimed Go was not going to appeal the decision but Go announced on his social media that he would try to clear his name through the union.

According to Leeco Sports Agency, this was the first instance in which a player's appeal over a foreign-substance ban has successfully led to a reduction in the 10-game suspension. Go will be eligible to return to the mound Tuesday, the agency added.

Go began this season with the Detroit Tigers and had spent the entire season in the minors before the Twins traded for him on July 5 and put him on their MLB roster. The right-handed reliever made his big league debut on July 9.

He was optioned to Triple-A St. Paul after posting a 9.00 ERA in four outings with the Twins. Go was then ejected as he was about to pitch for St. Paul for the first time on July 24.

Go claimed his innocence on social media, saying he had never once thought about cheating in his career and the substance found in his glove was a hardened mixture of sweat and rosin, not any intentionally concocted illegal substance.