"There Should Be A Punishment!": Clayton Kershaw Calls Out Girardi & MLB for Scherzer Check Mid-Inning

Umpires have started checking pitchers for sticky stuff at the end of innings, so that it doesn't interfere with play. But Tuesday night, the Philadelphia Phillies/Washington Nationals game got completely out of hand, when Phillies manager Joe Girardi took it one step further, calling for the 3rd check on Nats starter Max Scherzer, in the middle of an inning. The ensuing scenes were unlike anything ever seen before in baseball:

Scherzer gets checked for sticky stuff and chaos ensues, a breakdown pic.twitter.com/Roh6wbCHLF

— Jomboy (@Jomboy_) June 23, 2021

MAX SCHERZER HAS HAD IT WITH THE FOREIGN SUBSTANCE CHECKS pic.twitter.com/87dCMhjr9A

— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) June 23, 2021

Max Scherzer might actually murder someone during a sticky search. pic.twitter.com/ipMX82FrfH

— Jared Carrabis (@Jared_Carrabis) June 22, 2021

Fellow legendary pitcher Clayton Kershaw has called out MLB for the manager's challenge:

pic.twitter.com/sC3aSnT2dF

— MLB Foreign Substance Checks (@StickyCheck) June 23, 2021

"Scherzer is one of the best pitchers of our generation," Kershaw said. "To see him get checked, in a 1st and 3rd situation...and mess up his rhythm...You better find something if you're gonna call him out like that. There should be a punishment if a manager checks a guy and there isn't anything." 

And all this insanity is just getting started. Going to be an interesting summer. 

Photo Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports