Zobrist defies MLB again
Ben Zobrist was joined by Chicago Cubs teammates Kyle
Schwarber and Steve Cishek in wearing black spikes on Monday despite a warning from Major League Baseball that he was in violation of the sport’s uniform regulations.
Zobrist posted a letter from MLB on Instagram on Saturday that cited him for violating regulations requiring at least 51% of the exterior of a player’s shoes be the club’s designated primary shoe color. For the Cubs, that color is blue.
The letter said Zobrist will be subject to discipline, including a fine, if he continued to wear noncompliant shoes.
Zobrist said he planned to contract Joe Torre, MLB’s Chief Baseball Officer.
“I plan on calling Joe Torre today and seeing if we can talk about it,” Zobrist said following the Cubs’ 6-5 loss to Atlanta. “We’ll see. Maybe have an update tomorrow. My question is going to be why. We’ll see what kind of answer I get. Why now? I think all players are kind of wondering that. Hopefully I get an answer and we can move forward.”
In his Instagram post, Zobrist wrote he has worn black cleats for day games at Wrigley Field the past two years to honor the game’s past. He said he was inspired by watching highlights of greats such as Ernie Banks and Stan Musial in the 1950s and 1960s. Beltre may go on the DL: Texas
Rangers third baseman Adrian
Beltre will get his aggravated left hamstring further evaluated Tuesday, and the injury could put the active career hits leader back on the disabled list.
Texas was off Monday and will decide before Tuesday’s series opener at Seattle whether Beltre needs to go back on the DL.
Beltre was off the DL only five days before experiencing a similar feeling but in a different area of his left hamstring. He got hurt on a defensive play in the seventh inning of a loss at Houston on Sunday when he turned to try to get out a runner coming to third base.
Beltre has 3,080 hits. The 39year-old is batting .314 in 29 games this season, his 21st in the big leagues, and missed 12 games on the DL because of the hamstring.
Candelario sidelined: The Detroit Tigers put third baseman
Jeimer Candelario on the 10-day disabled list with left wrist tendinitis.
Detroit made the move retroactive to Sunday. Infielder Dawel Lugo was recalled from Triple-A Toledo.
Candelario is hitting .272 with five home runs and 16 RBI. He joins Miguel Cabrera, Leonys Martin, Jordan Zimmermann, Alex Wilson and Daniel Norris on the DL.