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San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Kevin Gausman chats with home plate umpire Phil Cuzzi on the pitcher’s mound before pitching late in the second inning against the Oakland A’s on August 21, 2021 in Oakland, Calif.
Lachlan Cunningham / Getty ImagesThe San Francisco Giants made a dramatic comeback against the Oakland A’s on Saturday, beating their Bay Area rivals 6-5. But Giants ace Kevin Gausman struggled – and adding insult to injury, it sure looked like a ref was wary of… his tattoos?
Before the second inning, plate umpire Phil Cuzzi approached the mound and asked to examine Gausman’s forearm. That in itself isn’t that unusual at this point, especially after MLB started cracking down on pitchers using illegal substances. But this review, at least for those watching on TV, didn’t seem like a random spot check.
Except, as Gausman rubbed his arm (presumably at Cuzzi’s request), only Gausman’s highly visible tattoos remained. Which begs the question: Has Cuzzi been bamboozled by ink? Did he think tattoos were something more harmful?
“I guess they’re saying to Gausman, ‘You know that tattoo thing you got planned? We need to clean this up, ”said Giants announcer Duane Kuiper.
Color commentator Javy Lopez has rightly pointed out that such a request is not possible. At least not during a baseball game.
Gausman had a tough outing on Saturday, allowing five runs and six hits before being called out in the fourth inning. It doesn’t appear that his tattoos unfairly improve his performance.
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