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Pirates’ Rodolfo Castro suspended 1 game after phone fell out of pocket during game

Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Rodolfo Castro was suspended for one game and fined on Tuesday for having his cell phone fly out of his pocket while running the bases last week, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan.

Castro violated Major League Baseball’s electronic device policy. He is going to appeal that suspension, meaning that Castro will be able to play against the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday night.

Castro was sliding into third base during the Pirates’ game against the Arizona Diamondbacks last week when his phone flew out of his back pocket — which made for one of the stranger moments in the league so far this season.

According to MLB rules, the only devices allowed in dugouts are MLB-approved iPads and PitchComs. A personal iPhone is clearly against that policy.

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While his phone could in theory be used to cheat in some way, it’s highly unlikely that was what was going on here. Castro said after the game that he simply forgot that his phone was in his pocket.

“I remember getting dressed, putting my pants on, getting something to eat … never did it cross my mind that I still had my cellphone on me,” Castro said through an interpreter after the game. “I went out there, put my sliding pad in my pocket, never felt my phone and just went out there and what happened, happened.

“To be honest with you, I don’t think there’s any professional ballplayer that would ever even go out there with any intentions of taking a cellphone out. It’s horrible that it happened to me. Obviously, it was very unintentional. I didn’t mean to do this at all in any way or form, it’s something I didn’t even know I had on me. And to be completely honest with you, I feel horrible.”

Rodolfo Castro of the Pittsburgh Pirates
Rodolfo Castro’s phone flew out of his pocket while he was sliding into third base last week. (Norm Hall/Getty Images) (Norm Hall via Getty Images)