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June 9, 2021

New Blog Topic: YET ANOTHER CHEATING SCANDAL

Here we go again. Baseball has been hit with another scandal, undoubtedly the biggest since the so-called Steroid Era. In fact, a recent major story in Sports Illustrated  was titled,  THE NEW STEROIDS, with the tag line, “This Should Be The Biggest Scandal in Sports.” And lo and behold, this time Major League Baseball says it intends to do something about it. Why this time? Simple, when it was first learned that baseball’s sluggers were challenging and breaking longstanding home run records, Bud Selig and Major League Baseball turned a blind eye. The reason was money, of course. This time, however, Major League Baseball and Rob Manfred are almost in panic mode about what the pitchers are doing. The reason: money, of course.

[Ed. note: Featured photo shows Miami Marlins pitcher Alex Sanabia caught on camera doctoring the ball, apparently not even concerned about being seen].

When baseball first realized its players were pumping up with anabolic steroids the game was coming off the disastrous players’ strike of 1994 that resulted in the cancellation of the World Series. Over the next few years, there were concerns about fans returning, to the point where it was recently learned that MLB was giving away hundreds of thousands of tickets and counting them as sales just to

inflate attendance numbers. The huge fan interest in the “feel good” home run chase between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa in 1998 became a national story and sparked fan interest everywhere. So it didn’t matter that the players were using illegal substances. Steroids have been deemed illegal since 1991, but there was no testing until 2003. Home runs were selling the game and bringing more money into the coffers. Only after Congress got into the act did baseball finally start doing something about it.

But the current scandal is something else. Now it’s the pitchers’ turn. Apparently more and more big-league hurlers are doctoring the ball with sticky substances to give them a better grip. It allows them to increase the spin rate on their pitches which, in turn, results in fastballs moving more and breaking pitches having a sharper, deeper break. With players swinging for home runs more than ever, some 24.2 percent of plate appearance are ending in strikeouts with fewer balls being put in play. Fans are being turned off by the lack of action as the MLB batting average is an all-time low of .236 so far in 2021.

Apparently this is nothing new and has been going on increasingly for the past two or three seasons. One recently retired pitcher has estimated that 80 to 90 percent of the pitchers are using some kind of “sticky stuff” when they’re on the mound. Pitchers are using substances such as pine tar and thickened sunscreens, or a combination of both, as well as different kinds of glues and who knows what else. As far back as 2014, Michael Pineda, then pitching for the Yankees, was busted for having pine tar smeared on his neck and received a suspension. But those incidents were few and far between. Managers are not complaining since they obviously know their own pitchers are doing the same thing. It has become so overt that when the stadiums were empty due to Covid, those in the dugout said they could actually hear the sound of friction when the ball left the pitcher’s hand.

Pitchers have been so totally dominant this season that former pitcher-turned-broadcaster Ron Darling feels that Bob Gibson’s Live Ball Era record-low earned run average of 1.12 could be broken. Mets’ ace Jacob deGrom is currently at a microscopic 0.62. Strikeout records such as Tom Seaver’s 10 in a row are at risk, as is the mark of 20 in a game if the starter isn’t pulled early via analytics. If you watch games and see the hitters swinging at air, you’ll also see the tremendous ball movement that has led to many more strikeouts than hits. And this is why MLB is sounding as if it may finally take action. They’re worried that fans are turning off to 15-25 players a game taking that slow walk back to the dugout while the fielders stand around yawning. They fear the fans are yawning, too.

The Reds’ Nick Castellanos, who happens to be leading the majors in hitting right now, is one who feels MLB has been once again taking a blind eye to the situation. “It’s illegal,” he said, speaking of the sticky stuff. “The league obviously knows that they are doing it, but the league doesn’t care. They don’t care because if it was really a problem they no longer wanted they would put people in the bullpen to check gloves, hats, whatever. The league would do something about it. But honestly, I don’t think it’s that important to them.”

Apparently it hasn’t been until now. Last week MLB held meetings for two days to discuss the sticky-stuff situation and it seems they will soon implement ways to curb and enforce something that, like steroids, is simply against the rules. Cheating. Some of the possible policing efforts that may soon be in force may include, 1. To place a greater responsibility on teams to enforce rules against doctoring the ball within their own clubs. 2. Giving the umpires authority to check caps, gloves, and uniforms for signs of illegal substances being hidden by the pitchers entering the game. They could remove the substance or the hat or glove containing it and warn pitchers that if they’re caught again they’ll be subject to ejection and disciplinary action from MLB. 3. Also step up enforcement in the minor leagues to address the problem at that level before those pitchers reach the majors.

Analytics has put an emphasis on spin rates and has let pitchers know the greater the spin rate they can generate, the more their pitches will move. Pitchers, in turn, began looking for ways to increase their spin rates and, VOILA, they discovered the sticky substance. Now MLB seems intent on putting a stop to it.

None of us were born yesterday. We’ve all heard about “getting the edge” in baseball and how it has gone on for years. There was a time when even the groundskeepers took a hand. If a team bunted often, they would slope the foul lines slightly toward the infield so a bunt would be less likely to roll foul. Or they could do the opposite if the visiting team had a tendency to bunt. Years ago, the Dodgers’ groundskeepers would make the dirt in front of home plate rock hard because the speedy Maury Willis hit a lot of Baltimore chops and if they bounced high, he’d likely beat them out. If a team had slow outfielders they could keep the outfield grass a bit higher to slow the roll on the ball. Subtle things like that we’re done for years.

But corked bats, then performance-enhancing drugs, and now sticky substances on the ball are all illegal and cheating. Ballplayers have always looked for an edge, a better way to get to the majors and stay longer. If one began to cheat, others would invariably follow as not to be left behind. The Steroid Era left a blight on the game and known and suspected users with great credentials have yet to get into the Hall of Fame. Now the fingers are pointing to the pitchers, including some of the best in the game. Were they cheating? Baseball may not want to know, but it does appear the lords of the game will try to put a stop to it. If they’re successful and the spin rates drop, they’ll know for sure and hope it ends.

But just look at history. There was a time when the spitball and the shine ball were legal. Those pitches were made illegal in 1920, but periodically over the years pitchers have been accused of still throwing the wet one and coming up with other gimmicks, like cutting the ball, to make their pitches move more.

So it’s not really surprising that pitchers have discovered yet another gimmick to give them an edge. But like the spitball, the sticky stuff is illegal. Maybe MLB will be able to stop it. The only question they should ask themselves is what’s next? And is it lurking just around the corner?

Bill Gutman

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