"Illegal glove"; "Bunch of cry babies" - Fans divided after Nationals force Matt Strahm to ditch Little League WS signed glove

Controversy erupted during the Philadelphia Phillies' series opener against the Washington Nationals on Friday after Phillies reliever Matt Strahm was forced to change his glove.

During the eighth inning of the game, Phillies closer Matt Strahm walked to the dugout after the Nationals complained about his glove. Strahm was wearing a special glove featuring signatures from Pennsylvania's Little League World Series team.

The clip of Strahm visiting the dugout to change the commemorative glove on Players' Weekend went viral, drawing reactions from fans on X.

"What a bunch of cry babies," wrote a fan.

Doug Doe

@DougDoe

What a bunch of cry babies

"The dude is playing with an illegal glove. Pretty simple," another fan wrote.

TimD

@tim_dan23

The dude is playing with an illegal glove. Pretty simple.

"Nationals are so poverty dude," lashed out a fan.

Pfaadt Is Better

@PfaadtIsBetter

Nationals are so poverty dude

Several fans wondered why Strahm was asked to change his glove.

"I think any glove that isn’t just brown or black leather should be banned. These guys are playing with skittle bags on their hands. It’s awful," wrote a fan.

bannon

@iamabannon

I think any glove that isn’t just brown or black leather should be banned. These guys are playing with skittle bags on their hands. It’s awful

"For those who are claiming it’s illegal to use, it’s a national players week that means you can have any design you want on ur glove, to complain over a glove design is pretty pathetic," claimed a fan.

Westcoast Townie

@westcoasttownie

For those who are claiming it’s illegal to use, it’s a national players week that means you can have any design you want on ur glove, to complain over a glove design is pretty pathetic.

According to section a of Major League Baseball Rule 1.15:

"The pitcher's glove may not, exclusive of piping, be white, gray, nor, in the judgment of an umpire, distracting in any manner."

Matt Strahm remained solid despite controversy surrounding 'pencil' glove

Despite the controversy surrounding his glove, Matt Strahm was solid from the mound. The All-Star reliever pitched a scoreless eight inning, allowing a walk with a strikeout. His scoreless outing helped the Phillies secure a 6-2 win to tie the series after a 3-2 loss in the series opener.

The Phillies failed to build on the win as the Nationals bounced back to shutout Philadelphia in Game 3 of the series on Saturday. They will clash on Sunday in the fourth game of the series, with the Phillies hoping to end the series all square.