"Yes the 45-70 pirates are cheating" "What grounds does he have to appeal" - MLB fans divided over Pirates' infielder Rodolfo Castro's one-game suspension due to the mobile phone saga

Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Rodolfo Castro is in some hot water with the MLB. During an August 9th game, a phone flew out of his back pocket while he was attempting to slide into third base. As a result, the MLB fined him and suspended him for one game.

Major League Baseball has a policy on bringing any unapproved electronic devices out on the field. With the Houston Astros cheating scandal in 2017, the MLB is very strict about this policy. Castro was further investigated and cleared of any further wrongdoing by the league.

Castro is appealing the one-game suspension that the league handed him. Castro claimed that the incident was purely just an accident. Some don't think it was an accident and are calling for the MLB to make an example out of him.

Rules are rules. If you break a rule, you should be punished even if you believe that the situation was an accident. There's no reason for a Major League Baseball player to have his phone on him at any point during the game.

The suspension is only for one game. The suspension doesn't even last a whole series, so it doesn't make much sense to go through the appeal process for this. While being caught red-handed in the act, it doesn't seem like the appeal will be successful.

MLB has MLB-approved electronics out on the field. You can see Ipads throughout the dugouts and bullpens. There is also a pitchcom device that catchers and pitchers use to communicate the pitches to each other. Every electronic has to be approved and a personal cellphone would never make that list.

Some fans are bringing up the relatively light punishment Manfred gave to the Houston Astros players after their scandal. Astros players were given complete immunity for their cooperation in the investigation into the scandal.

With many fans urging Castro to just take the suspension, some fans think it is hilarious that anyone thinks the Pirates are cheating.

It's quite comical to look back at all of the great players the Pirates have traded away just in recent years. The Pirates had players like: Josh Bell, Tyler Glasnow, Joe Musgrove, and who could forget; Gerritt Cole.

Pittsburgh Pirates are not the most competitive team within Major League Baseball

If they are cheating, it doesn't seem to be working out too well for them. With the recent call-up of Oneil Cruz, hopefully Pittsburgh's struggles can take a turn for the better.

About the author

Jared "Bloomy" Bloom is a journalist covering Major League Baseball at Sportskeeda and a former college baseball pitcher from Illinois, who just graduated with a Master's degree in Sport Psychology.

A writer with over 3 years of experience, Jared is consistently more concerned with quality than quantity, thoroughly checking multiple sources of information, and prides himself in being knowledgeable not just about MLB, but the game of baseball in general. He loves breaking down plays and game-changing moments, as well as looking closer into players' statistics.

Jared is a die-hard Chicago White Sox fan, and one of his earliest memories is seeing his great-grandfather, a huge Sox fan, in his rocking chair watching a game. Jared started playing from the age of 5 with his grandfather coaching him early on.

Jared loved Tim Lincecum for his quirky delivery and looked up to him as a role model when playing. His current favorite is Phillies star Bryce Harper, an exciting player who doesn't let injuries hold him back. Jared's favorite sports moment is Mark Buehrle's opening day between-the-legs glove flip to first base in 2010.

When he is not watching or writing about baseball, Jared can be found racing BMX at his local Rockford BMX track or coaching his local youth travel baseball team.

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