Stop Trying To Single Out Pitchers For Using ‘Sticky Substances’
Photo Via: Al Bello — Getty ImagesToday, Gerrit Cole was asked about by Ken Davidoff whether he uses Spider Tack, which is one of many substances that MLB will be “cracking down” on in regards to usage by pitchers. For some reason, Cole has been constantly singled out, along with his former college teammate, Trevor Bauer, when this conversation arises.
People seem to think Cole is doing something that no other pitchers are doing and that he is trying to hide the fact that he uses a “sticky” substance. If you think either of those things are true, then you are wrong.
Cole was named in a lawsuit this past offseason (which has since been dismissed) when an Angels’ clubhouse employee claimed he and Cole messaged each other about foreign substances to enhance pitching spin rate (Justin Verlander was named in the very same lawsuit). People immediately pretended to care about pitchers using sticky stuff once they saw the names attached. Well, it blew over quickly and the conversation froze there.
However, now the conversation has restarted after MLB decided to implement strict enforcement of the foreign substance rules. Pitchers and position players will be checked during games at multiple points, typically between innings. Furthermore, the league is also allowing for managers to request a check by umpires if they think something fishy is going on during the game.
This comes on the heels of the worst start for offenses league-wide in decades, which is partially attributable to the league’s own decision to deaden its own baseballs. It is also attributable to the fact that spin rates for each type of pitch thrown are at the highest they have ever been since pitch tracking and spin rate tracking was instituted… every pitch type!
To put it simply, pitch spin rates are not at an all-time high because of a single pitcher putting pine tar or sunscreen or anything else on his hand. Any pitcher that is physically comfortable using a substance is doing it. Major League Baseball has not enforced it. The pitchers are doing it in broad daylight. The fact that MLB decided to implement an enforcement strategy now proves that it has not been enforcing it all along. It is unfair to blame pitchers for using these substances when the guy you are asking them to defeat that night is using it without a single worry about getting caught.
Your favorite pitcher is doing it, and his favorite pitcher is doing it, too. The videos below of Jacob deGrom and John Means clearly reaching for foreign substances they have tucked away is not to single them out either. Its purpose is to prove that this is not a single-player or handful-of-players issue. As Gerrit Cole hinted, it has been this way for decades. If you believe that only the best pitchers in baseball use a sticky substance and that the others just say, “Nah, I’m good,” then I have a bridge to sell you.
Now that MLB has decided to step up its enforcement of foreign substances on the mound, spin rates are going to drop to some degree. If the rules are truly and equally enforced, it is not such a bad thing for baseball. However, this problem is going to be a nightmare to enforce. If Game 7 of the World Series rolls around and we find out a week later that one of the pitchers was secretly using a substance, what do we do? At that point it would be tacky (pun intended) to replay the game or to act like one team never won and had a parade. It could really potentially harm the competitive balance of the game. What should happen is some sort of substance should be allowed and it should be provided similar to the rosin bag on the mound. It would limit the competitive edge gained by using an illegal substance while providing an alternative with a level playing field.
One more note, some people wanted Gerrit Cole to confess to using a foreign substance in the past. Gerrit Cole is smarter than that. If his usage is implied, he will not be punished (nor should he since the league was not enforcing anything). However, if his usage becomes explicit — especially right from the horse’s mouth — then he opens himself up to other teams complaining and the result being that he serves as the scapegoat for all of this. Everybody knows he has used something, you can see him put his fingers into his glove, hat, or hair every start for 5 seasons now. But in this league, you do not admit to anything unless Commissioner Manfred grants you immunity.
PS — It was quite hilarious to see Gerrit Cole questioned about this when the opposing pitcher on the Twins in tonight’s game got caught with this… while on the Yankees.
