MLB says 10-game suspensions to pitchers for using foreign substances will start June 21

NEW YORK (AP) — Pitchers will be ejected and suspended for 10 games for using illegal foreign substances to doctor baseballs in a crackdown by Major League Baseball that will start June 21. The commissioner’s office is responding to record strikeouts and a league batting average at its lowest since 1968. It says major and minor league umpires will start regular checks of all pitchers, even if opposing managers don’t request inspections. Repeat offenders will receive progressive discipline, and teams and club employees will be subject to discipline for failure to comply. The perception of an increased use of foreign substances is viewed as the largest instance of widespread cheating in baseball since the rise of steroids.