Battle on the Ban

 Written by: Matt Ferreira

Image via Will Newton/ AP Photo

 On Tuesday, Major League Baseball distributed a message to teams outlining what will happen to pitchers that will be caught with ANY foreign substance. Major League Baseball said that they will be cracking down on pitchers who use these foreign substances after an uptick in spin rate, strikeouts, and no hitters across the league.

 Firstly many of you probably noticed how I put “any” in all caps and that was not an accident. Pitchers in the big leagues, minor leagues, and college have used substances, legal and illegal, to improve grip since the beginning of the game. In fact there are rosin bags on the back of every mound for pitchers to get a better grip on the ball. Yet different substances do different things, many pitchers use a combination of rosin, sunscreen, and sweat and this creates a substance that allows the pitchers to get a better feel of the ball giving them a little bit more control. A little more control on the ball is not what the MLB is trying to crack down on though, many pitchers have started using spider tack, an industrial glue that is very sticky shown below.

Spider Tack is insane 😂 pic.twitter.com/BJPlXOsBlK

— Fuzzy (@fuzzyfromyt) June 15, 2021

Not only does this give pitchers a better grip on the ball to give them more control, it allows them to increase their spin rate when pulling down on the ball. Spin rate not only will affect how fast a ball will travel after being thrown, but also how much the ball will break horizontally and vertically giving pitchers a huge advantage over hitters. A prime example of proving how effective this is Trevor Bauer. I touched on this when Bauer originally signed with the Dodgers. Bauer has called out pitchers, especially college teammate Gerrit Cole (who did not give a convincing answer when asked about his use of foreign substances), since him and Cole were teammates at UCLA.

Gerrit Cole on if he ever used Spider Tack while pitching:

"I don't quite know how to answer that, to be honest...If MLB wants to legislate some more stuff, that's a conversation that we can have" pic.twitter.com/2fR1AUeOQX

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) June 8, 2021

 

After watching the MLB do nothing about it Bauer decided to take it upon himself, creating a substance that boosted his fastball 451 RPM’s and eventually won him the Cy Young Award and gave him the seventh highest AAV contract in the history of the game. Bauer showed the hole in the system, and after six no hitters (seven including Bumgarner's unofficial 7 inning no hitter) in two months, Major League Baseball had enough.

 Major League Baseball is expected to give a ten game suspension with pay to any pitcher who is caught with a foreign substance in game. While a ten day paid “vacation” may not seem that scary there is a catch. With a player being suspended the team can not call someone up to replace their spot. Creating four man rotations and smaller bullpens tiring out pitchers more than they already are. This new rule has also made umpires the judge, jury, and executioner as they are the ones who stop the game to check pitchers for these substances.

 This has created much controversy around the league in just one day. Tampa Bay Rays ace, Tyler Glasnow, partially tore his UCL (ulnar collateral ligament) in his start against the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday. After the game Glasnow shared his frustration with the MLB, blaming them for his injury. Due to the new ban of foreign substances Glasnow had to stop using his sunscreen and rosin combination (which was legal by Major League Baseball standards before the new ban) for a better grip, this affected his pitch grips instead of holding the ball in his fingertips, he said he had to bury it further into his hand and change the grip on the ball for his pitches. He also said he was sore after the start against the Nationals, which was his first start without the substance. Glasnow is not the only notable injury either, Jacob deGrom, the best pitcher in the league, left his start on Wednesday after three innings due to shoulder soreness, Braves rookie phenom Tucker Davidson got taken out against the Red Sox and is expected to not return until July, and former first round draft pick Brady Singer got yanked early after a shoulder injury. While Rob Manfred and Major League Baseball are trying to save the game by getting rid of all substances, if injuries continue to rise this could hurt the game more giving Manfred an even bigger issue.