Can't Tip Your Cap if You Pitch in the MLB: Cracking Down on Foreign Substance Use

Michael Pineda of the New York Yankees was ejected after the Umpires found the sticky substance on his neck and hat brim while pitching against the Boston Red Sox. (via Associated Press)

It’s the league’s worst kept secret since the Yankees’ A-Roid scandal back in the early 2000s. This year’s edition of how to break the rules in the MLB draws our attention to the ones playing defense against the juiced-up players hitting record-breaking out of the park home runs; Pitchers. 

Pitchers are all too familiar with “Pine Tar,” a substance mostly applied to the handles of baseball bats to improve grip.

The MLB rules and guidelines, Rule 1.10(c) of the 2002 Official rules of Major League Baseball restricts the application to the lower 18 inches of a bat. There have been incidents of Pine Tar abuse, most notably from Michael Pineda as he pitched against the Red Sox in April of 2014. 

About seven years later, Pine Tar continues to make a name for itself, as pitchers continue to be attracted to the subtle ways it improves their grip on the ball in cold weather. This is not allowed due to a regulation prohibiting the application of any foreign substance to a ball. However, this of course doesn’t stop the majority of the league from doing so.

Just last week, the MLB signaled that the league intended to crack down on the use of foreign substances on the mound. With that said, pitchers responded quickly and attempted to diminish the use of Pine Tar. Numerous pitchers have since posted lower-than-usual spin rates, leading to frenzied speculation about who is or has been doctoring the ball.

Among those finding themselves in a sticky situation is Gerrit Cole, pitcher for the New York Yankees. His spin rate went down six percent after pitching against the Rays on June 3rd. One of the accused, he offered a less than convincing answer on Tuesday in response to allegations of having entertained using Spider Track, an adhesive designed for strength competitions. 

Cole was simply asked point-blank in a yes or no question whether or not he has used any foreign substances. This was his response:

via Getty Images

“I don’t quite know how to answer that, to be honest. There are customs and practices that have been passed down from older players to younger players, from past generations. I think there are some things that are certainly out of bounds in that regard, and I've stood pretty firm in terms of that, in terms of the communication between our peers and whatnot. Again, like I mentioned earlier, this is important to a lot of people that love the game, including the players in this room, the fans, including teams. If MLB wants to legislate some more stuff, that's a conversation we can have because ultimately we should all be pulling in the same direction."

I think it’s safe to say that Cole didn’t have any answer toward denying these allegations, especially with managing to give an answer without particularly giving an answer. To be fair, he certainly isn’t the first and only pitcher to do this. Pine Tar has been in the leagues for years.

Why are we now paying attention to it? The MLB is on pace to reach the lowest batting average among hitters and the highest strikeout rate in the history of the league. Hitting has become too difficult with pitching velocities of higher force, seeming to be the credit of these substances. Not only that, but since the substances enable pitchers to spin the ball better, they gain 500 RPM (spin rate) than their baseline.

Although no one in the major leagues has been punished, the use of Pine Tar and the number of pitchers caught violating the rules has been spreading like a pandemic. Four minor league pitchers have been suspended for ten games all within the year since the absence of their last season. 

That said, these issues will be answered by the league officials within the upcoming week as investigations continue to ensue. As of recently, Trevor Bauer of the LA Dodgers is the only known current investigation going on.

Pitchers have broken baseball’s rules in plain sight since the game’s inception. And experts say most players are fine with that. Or at least they don’t want to rat out their own team’s pitchers by accusing an opponent and drawing attention to the issue. If found guilty, pitchers will have to change their acts quickly before they too become under fire for following a social norm that they have all widely accepted. Perhaps they can return to the spitball in an era where it is out of style?