A Sticky Situation: A Baseball Problem
Baseball players throughout history have done whatever it takes to get a competitive edge over their opponents. Some are legal and some are not so legal practices. Some of these illegal practices have become quite taboo, think of how we treat players who test positive for PED’s. Yet what if I told you that there was an age old cheating scandal rife in the majors, that pitching staffs across the MLB had been “doctoring baseballs” for 50 plus years? Surprised? Well you shouldn’t be, the art of doctoring baseballs has been going on for generations, and finally it might be coming to an end-at least that’s the story.
What exactly does it mean to doctor a baseball?
Firstly, there is no “one-way” to do this. There are different substances and application methods. Pine Tar for example is a substance that you’ll find in every single club house from college all the way to the Majors. It’s something batters will use on their bats to improve their grip so they don’t go losing the damn thing after their swings, pitchers use it though to increase their grip on the ball. That increased grip leads to an increased spin rate and better control. The key though is using just the right amount of pine tar so you don’t get caught and it’s usually applied to the wrist area. The process or applying pine tar can be long, messy, and damn near ritualistic to some pitchers out there.
Another substance is Firm Grip. Firm Grip has the same tack that pine tar has, but that tack gets stronger with friction. The tighter you abrade against it, the tighter it grips back. Firm Grip comes in a tube and has a consistency similar to toothpaste, so you don’t need to make a towel to apply it. It has other advantages, too. It’s easier to get off, doesn’t harden into a candy shell-type coat, doesn’t get runny when it gets hot—pine tar’s viscosity changes with heat—and you can rub it into the fabric of your clothes without it leaving obvious brown smudges. (Actually, it often looks like sweat when rubbed into your uniform)
Now the current rule is written like this;
“No player is permitted to intentionally damage, deface or discolor the baseball by rubbing it with any type of foreign item or substance, including dirt or saliva. Failure to follow this rule will result in an ejection and an automatic 10-game suspension.”
So what’s going to change? Tom Verducii in an article for Sports Illustrated writes “MLB’s crackdown on grip substances for pitchers puts pitching coaches, bullpen coaches and bullpen catchers on notice that they risk their place in the game by abetting such behavior. MLB teams informally allow pitchers to use a substance to improve grip, such as pine tar or the most common method of combining resin with clear sunscreen that pitchers often keep on their non-throwing forearm or neck. The crackdown is aimed at pitchers who slather noticeable amounts on their body or the baseball, such as Michael Pineda in 2014, or concoct mixtures that go beyond providing a grip to specifically and intentionally affect ball flight for a competitive advantage.”
This means unlike before where only the player was accountable the coaching staff is also now at risk of punishment. Houston pitching coach Brent Strom was quoted in that same article as saying “I know one thing, myself and this organization will not provide … the rules are we are not going to provide the impetus,” Strom said, referring to grip substances. “We are not going to mix it, we’re not going to give it to them, we’re not going to carry it for them, we’re not going to provide it for them. If they want to do it, it’s on them.”
Nothing is agreed upon yet the players association and the commissioners office aren’t far apart from agreeing to these new proposals either. I think though that the proposals to crackdown on this league wide issue are going to fall flat. Pitchers have been going around this rule for 50 plus years and with batters getting better and better I don’t expect it to stop.
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