NEW YORK (NEWSCORE) -
Tampa Bay Rays reliever Joel Peralta was suspended for eight games Thursday by Major League Baseball after he was found to have pine tar in his glove.
Peralta was ejected from Tuesday night's game against the Nationals without throwing a pitch after Washington manager Davey Johnson asked umpire-Tim Tschida to check the right-hander's glove for foreign substances.
The 36-year-old setup man has appealed the penalty so he will not have to sit out any games until the case is heard. Peralta has a 3.72 ERA this season, with 36 strikeouts in 29 innings.
The incident led to a war of words between Johnson and Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon, who labeled Johnson as "cowardly" for insisting his pitcher's glove be checked.
He argued the 69-year-old Johnson broke baseball's unwritten rules, maintaining "this is just how the game has been played" for more than 100 years.
Johnson responded Wednesday, calling Maddon a "weird wuss," and advising him to read the rule book.
Johnson said his players had told him before the game that Peralta -- a former Nationals player -- liked to use pine tar on his hand to help him grip the ball.
Johnson said in the past he has asked umpires to check an opposing pitcher when the weather is hot and when the player is known for using foreign substances.
