In Major League Baseball there are many unwritten rules for players.
However, there are also written rules that even apply to law enforcement when it comes to behavior in a team's locker room.
Notably: No autographs.
Two Maricopa County (Arizona) Sheriff's Office deputies who run the K-9 unit entered the New York Yankees locker room on Wednesday to conduct a routine security sweep, as is done at every Diamondbacks game at Chase Field, according to the Sheriff's Office.
They also had baseballs in hand, as they wanted to get the signature of New York ace CC Sabathia, who had made baseball history by recording his 3,000th strike out against the Diamondbacks the night before.
The outgoing Sabathia was more than willing to sign, but then the officers got a bit greedy, according to a report on NJ.com.
They then approached Yankees shortstop Gleyber Torres for another autograph.
Then the officers got picked off.
Yankees official Mark Kafalas reportedly scolded them for violating clubhouse policy, and then they were escorted out of the clubhouse, according to NJ.com.
An upset Sheriff Paul Penzone then benched the unidentified deputies.
"The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office does not condone nor tolerate actions that lack professionalism as occurred in this instance. The deputies involved will no longer be working at the stadium. MCSO will issue written apologies to the Yankees and Diamondbacks organizations. These teams and our community as a whole expect us to act with discretion and professionalism while providing public safety services at Chase Field, and we will work to ensure that is the case moving forward," Penzone said.
But that wasn't all.
"All autographed items from this incident have been recovered and will be turned over to the Yankees," the sheriff said.
An MCSO spokesman added that a written directive has gone out to employees, reminding them of the prohibition against actions such as this violate policy and reflect poorly on the Sheriff's Office.
The Diamondbacks declined to comment, other than to say the Sheriff's Office has been a great partner.
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