Much of the recent talk around Major League Baseball has been regarding the use of “foreign substances” by pitchers. “Spider Tack”—a sticky substance used by weightlifters—is the focus, with many pitchers around the league using it (or at least being heavily rumored to be) to not only improve their command, but also to improve things like spin rate.
Major League Baseball has decided to come down hard on the use of foreign substances, announcing that players caught using the substances will be suspended for ten games with pay. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred released a statement on the decision:
“After an extensive process of repeated warnings without effect, gathering information from current and former players and others across the sport, two months of comprehensive data collection, listening to our fans and thoughtful deliberation, I have determined that new enforcement of foreign substances is needed to level the playing field. I understand there’s a history of foreign substances being used on the ball, but what we are seeing today is objectively far different, with much tackier substances being used more frequently than ever before. It has become clear that the use of foreign substance has generally morphed from trying to get a better grip on the ball into something else — an unfair competitive advantage that is creating a lack of action and an uneven playing field.”
However, this is yet another issue that players—many batters as well as pitchers—appear to be squarely on the opposite side of Major League Baseball on.
Starting with the hitters, as we’ve seen with a few batters getting hit in the face this year, it is not always fun standing in the batter’s box facing 95-100 MPH fastballs. Some hitters have come out and said they don’t mind—and some even preferring—pitchers using foreign substances. Phillies outfielder Andrew McCutchen put it well in a tweet, which probably sums up the feelings of many position players around the majors.
Welp https://t.co/qiUW95bsK8 pic.twitter.com/FzVFeXguB4
— Andrew McCutchen (@TheCUTCH22) June 15, 2021
Personally, I would rather face tougher pitches and know the pitcher has command. The relative comfort of feeling a pitcher is in control is arguably more of an advantage than facing lower spin rates without the better grips.
From the pitcher side of things, you can certainly argue that they are breaking the rules by using foreign substances. But the MLB has done pitchers no favors with what they do with the baseballs, which have changed from year to year and are very slick and sometimes difficult to grip (changes to the laces also a big part of that).
Also, implementing these punishments in middle of the season is arguably unfair. Rays pitcher Tyler Glasnow just suffered a partially torn UCL and argued just that:
Must-listen: Tyler Glasnow's rant on MLB's crackdown on foreign substances.
"I 100% believe that contributed to me getting hurt."
He's used the sunscreen/rosin mix, then went "cold turkey" last week against the Nats. 11Ks. But woke up sore. "I felt completely different." (1/2) pic.twitter.com/BU2qCxmrtu
— Grace Remington (@GraceRemiTV) June 15, 2021
He’s right that making these changes in middle of the season after pitchers have already gotten used to throwing a bunch of innings with a certain ball is ridiculous. On the other side, Major League Baseball can say they are just enforcing rules that should have been followed by the players, but it seems almost everyone is in agreement that the MLB is (yet again) in the wrong and out of touch.
Keep in mind that Glasnow is against the use of Spider Tack increasing spin rate (he used a mix of rosin and sunscreen, creating tackiness for a better grip). So, many feel the MLB has gone too far in cracking down on Spider Tack that they’ve made these pitchers throw slick baseballs without much assistance in getting a good grip on the ball.
Let’s hope this doesn’t make the game more dangerous, for both batters and pitchers.
Fire Manfred