Instead, some fans watching the game noticed that Valdez, who struck out nine over 6 1/3 innings with one run, was often removing his glove and rubbing his hands together on the mound.
So did the Phillies see it happen during the game?
“Yeah, we did,” Philadelphia manager Rob Thomson said. “And I just got it from [Phillies VP of baseball communications Kevin Gregg] — is all over Twitter. The umpires check these guys after almost every at-bat, and if something is going on, MLB will take care of it.”
Along with the frequent umpire checks, Thomson said his mind was also eased by the fact that the Phils saw Valdez do similar things when he faced them on Oct. 5 in Houston. The Astros left-hander had 10 strikeouts in five scoreless innings in that game.
As for Valdez, he said it’s all about sticking to his routine.
“No one should think of it as anything, like, the wrong way,” Valdez said. “I do it outside. But it’s all the tendencies that I do. I do it throughout the game. Maybe I distract the hitter a little bit from what I’m doing. Like maybe, ‘Look at me, rubbing different things.’ and not think for the pitch I’m going to throw, I’ve been doing that all season.
“Again, just the trend that the Dominicans do just to be able to stay free. Just the trend. The important thing, obviously, is to win. And we’re winning — obviously, winning legally. But, yeah, just the trend random.”
