Former Cleveland pitcher Gaylord Perry was checked often for using foreign substances and doctoring baseballs which is now the case this season with the use of the spider tack baseball used by some MLB pitchers (file photo from Hobart Pulp)

Baseball: Umpires to check Pitchers’ Balls

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

Being a few days since California “was opened” due to Covid, there is a new scandal brewing…… in baseball. Beginning this Monday June 21, MLB umpires will be enforcing new guidelines around pitchers using foreign substances on baseballs during games.

According to MLB, umpires will be urged to check the pitcher regularly and ask for the ball if they suspect the baseball has an unusually sticky feel to it. Also, when an umpire notices a pitcher going to his hat, glove, belt, or any place on his uniform or body to apply what may be a foreign substance, he will be checked.

Players caught will be ejected and suspended (with pay) for 10 games, even if the opposing manager doesn’t request inspection. Major League Baseball is responding to a season with: 1-Record strikeouts, 2-League batting average more than half-century low at .235 and 3-Spin rates of the ball.

This represents more responsibility for baseball umpires, who will be policing these new guidelines. MLB is not de-funding the umpires, but giving them more power. MLB investigated numerous complaints from players, tested balls, plus collected data during April and May.

Spin rates on the ball that provides pitchers with an unfair competitive advantage over pitchers and hitters who do not used foreign substances. All this has also translated to less action on the field. There have been six (6) no hitters this year (one of 7 inning thrown by Madison Bumgarner) but MLB doesn’t recognizes that as a no hitter because is less than 9 innings. The record is eight (8) no hitters in 1884.

This April, Trevor Bauer, now with the LA Dodgers and the 2020 NL Cy Young Award winner reacted sarcastically to the report on his twitter account. He also noted that many baseballs were being collected from games across baseball, not only from him.

More recently after the MLB announced on this new guidelines he told the MLB network that pitchers use the ‘rosin bag’ (a sticky substance extracted from the sap of fir trees) and is used by pitcher to improve their grip on the baseball and keep their hands dry, but Bauer said many pitchers use the rosin bad and it gets mixed with their sweat.

Gaylord Perry is 82 years old, born in Williamston, NC. He pitched for 22 years won 314 games, with 6 different teams, first pitcher to win the Cy Young in both leagues, with the Indians in the AL in 1972 and with the Padres in the NL in 1978 5 times All Star, five season with 20 or more wins, inducted into the Hall of Fame at Cooperstown in 1991.

He wrote the book “Me and The Spitter” an autobiographical confession by Gaylord Perry. This is one of Gaylord Perry’s quotes: “I’d always have grease in at least two places, in case the umpires would ask me to wipe one off. I never wanted to be caught out there with anything though; it wouldn’t be professional.” See you at the park.

Amaury Pi Gonzalez is the vice president of the Major League Baseball Hispanic Heritage Hall of Fame Museum and does News and Commentary at http://www.sportsradioservice.com