Pirates’ Castro suspended for having phone in his pocket

Just like making an international call, there’s a price to pay for having your phone on you during an MLB game. 

Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Rodolfo Castro received a one-game suspension and was fined for having his phone in his pocket during a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Aug. 9.

Castro’s phone fell out of his pocket when he slid into third base in the fourth inning of what ended up being a 6-4 Pirates loss. Castro ran from first to third on a single by Oneil Cruz. As he slid safely into third, his phone fell out of his back pocket.

Castro said he didn’t mean to have his cell phone on him.

“I don’t think there’s any professional ballplayer that would ever go out there with any intentions of taking a cellphone,” Castro told reporters after the Aug. 9 game, via an interpreter. “It’s horrible it happened to me. Obviously, it was very unintentional.”

By having his phone on him, Castro was in violation of MLB’s rules on allowing electronic devices on the field or in the dugout. Only MLB-approved iPads can be used in the dugout.

Castro, who was called up from Triple-A earlier that day, said he was hoping his name would be in the headlines for another reason.

“My first day back, if I was to be the center of attention, I would want it to be helping the team win, but never in this form,” Castro said. “This is definitely something that was an accident, a mistake, something I’m going to learn from. But definitely something I didn’t mean to happen.”

Pirates manager Derek Shelton came to his player’s defense.

“You stay around the game and you see things you haven’t seen before, Shelton said. “This was just a kid who made a mistake. It’s just one of those things we move forward from and tell him, ‘You can’t do that.’”

Castro’s hit well since getting recalled from the minors. He’s 8-for-22 (.381) with a home run, a double and two triples. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.