Cubs pitcher Justin Steele on rosin discussion: “I was scared to death” | Marquee Sports Network

So what happened during this discussion with the referees?

“They thought he had rosin on his hand that he wasn't throwing with, although you're not supposed to have rosin on your hand,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell told reporters Tuesday night. “So they just asked him to take it off. He took it off – no big deal.”

[Dansby Swanson had a special birthday present for his mom during the Cubs’ win Tuesday night]

The Cubs have seen firsthand what happens when things go the other way. During a June game at Wrigley Field, Mets closer Edwin Díaz was ejected after a foreign object was found on his hand, and he was eventually suspended for 10 games.

It was a tense few minutes for Steele, even though rosin is not a banned substance and is provided to MLB pitchers on the mound during every game.

“Yeah, you could probably see me shaking,” he told reporters in Pittsburgh. “I was scared. They said I wasn't allowed to put rosin on my non-throwing arm. I really didn't know that, so they told me to wipe it off my non-throwing arm.”

“I was definitely scared. I thought to myself, 'I'm not actually doing anything wrong here.' I was honestly scared to death.”

It was a very warm, muggy night in Pittsburgh, and Steele said he used rosin frequently throughout the evening.

When the umpires asked him to wipe it off, he went to the dugout and got a towel from Cubs pitching coach Tommy Hottovy to wipe off his right arm. The umpires checked him every inning from that point on and there were no further problems.

“I respect the referees for wanting to protect the integrity of the game and everything else,” Steele said. “I respect that.”