Major League Baseball pitchers are to be checked by umpires for 'sticky stuff' that is being used on balls for better grip and to make them harder to hit
Major League Baseball pitchers are to be checked both repeatedly and at random by game umpires for any foreign substances, or 'sticky stuff' they might be using on their balls under plans due to be implemented within the next two weeks.
MLB says umpires may to conduct eight to 10 random checks per game.
The sudden drive to enforce the rule comes as pitchers in the game appear to be illegally doctoring baseballs to help with their grip and also increase spin on the ball.
The use of sticky substances essentially makes the balls less hittable and has led to pitcher strikeout rates soaring to all-time highs, and batting averages plummeting to all-time lows. It makes for a boring game for fans.
Avid watchers of the sport believe that between 80 and 90 percent of pitchers are using an illegal substance on the baseball in some form.
Pitchers are illegally doctoring baseballs, using 'sticky stuff' to aid their grip and increase spin on the ball. Trevor Bauer, pictured, is said to be the spinniest pitcher in MLB for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Last year he said at least 70% of MLB pitchers had been illegally gluing balls
Major league pitchers have been tinkering with the ball for years in search of an advantage, occasionally breaking major league rules in the process but MLB is vowing a crackdown in weeks
Tyrus Clear Sticky Grip is supposed to be used on bats 'for the player that wants to improve their grip' and is aimed at hitters, but pitchers are said to be using the substance on their balls
Although pitchers are allowed to use rosin, a semi-transparent form of solid resin, on the ball to get some grip, it appears things have escalated.
Pitchers, teams and coaches have come up with their own concoctions to place on balls which can include all manner of chemicals from pine tar to sunscreen.
Such substances are allowed for hitters in order for them to keep hold of their bats during a swing, but now pitchers are also using them materials too.
The substances enhance the balls spin rate and making them less predictable for hitters yet so far, not one pitcher has been caught in the act although last month umpire Joe West confiscated the cap of Cardinals reliever Giovanny Gallegos over suspicions an illegal substance was being used.
Trevor Bauer is said to be the spinniest pitcher in MLB for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Last year he said at least 70% of MLB pitchers had been illegally gluing up baseballs.
The Chicago White Sox broadcast highlighted Indians pitcher James Karinchak allegedly keeping a sticky substance inside his glove
The glue makes the ball spin up to 300rpm faster.
In 2019, Bauer's average spin rate on his four-seam fastball was 2,358 rpm. It is 2,835 rpm this season.
'If they're serious about actually doing something about the rule that's on the books, then that's all I wanted for four years,' Bauer said to The Players Tribune.
'It's nice to see them finally catching up to something that I've at least been talking to them about for four years. We'll see what they do. Unfortunately, in MLB a lot of times, nothing gets done until their hand gets forced and it becomes a public issue.'
'Hitters are swatting at mosquitoes with soda straws,' writes sports columnist Scott Ostler in the San Francisco Chronicle. 'It's not a disease, it's an epidemic.'
A recent article by Sports Illustrated likened the issues over foreign substances to being tantamount to using performance-enhancing drugs which has plagued the sport within the last decade.
Pitcher Giovanny Gallegos, right, of the St. Louis Cardinals was forced to switch his cap during a game against the Chicago White Sox last month
Major League Baseball and the Players Association have been talking for weeks about the issue.
An owners' meeting took place last week, according to ESPN where evidence was presented including baseballs, hats and gloves that were coated with various substances.
Plans were made during a conference call on Friday and a memo is likely to be sent next week for new foreign substance rules to be implemented as early as June 14.
MLB hope that the crackdown will lead to such devices being dropped from the game right across the league.
How the enforcement of such rules prohibiting foreign substances will affect the game remains to be seen but the lack of hitting in games is believed to be as a direct result of the use of such sticky substances on balls.
Pitcher strikeout rates are at an all-time high and batting averages at an all-time low. It is unclear how the prohibiting of such foreign substances will affect the game
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