Baseball is back and, apparently, so are foreign substance checks. In fact, per a league memo issued to teams Friday, MLB plans for even stricter enforcement this year after learning pitchers discovered a “workaround” to the routine spot checks conducted by umpires, resuming their use of sticky substances late last season.
According to Sports Illustrated’s Tom Verducci, umpires have been instructed to inspect pitchers’ hands (both top and bottom), hats, gloves and belts for evidence of foreign substances including Spider Tack, widely used by pitchers to improve their grip while also enhancing velocity and spin rate. If an umpire notices a pitcher attempting to wipe their hands before an inspection, that player will be subject to immediate ejection as well as an automatic suspension. Catchers and position players will be subject to the same rules, though checks will be mandatory for all pitchers with starters told to expect multiple inspections during games.
Only two pitchers last year were popped for doctoring balls with Caleb Smith and Hector Santiago each suspended 10 games. MLB’s initial crackdown appeared to work for a time, with spin rates noticeably down in June and July before spiking late in the season. Pitchers were largely resistant to the change, with many including Max Scherzer and Lance Lynn expressing their displeasure at being frisked by umpires between innings, finding the foreign substance checks invasive and unnecessary. Rays ace Tyler Glasnow even argued that quitting the habit cold turkey (sunscreen and rosin were his preferred substances) may have contributed to his elbow injury, which would ultimately require season-ending surgery.
Highlighting the prevalence of foreign substance use in MLB, an anonymous former pitcher revealed to Sports Illustrated last year that between 80-90 percent of pitchers use some form of grip-enhancer. “Foreign substances significantly increase spin rate and movement of the baseball, providing pitchers with an unfair advantage over hitters that our Playing Rules were expressly designed to prohibit,” wrote senior VP of baseball operations Mike Hill, citing extensive data compiled by independent researchers. “Foreign substance use appears to be contributing to an overall decline in control because it enables a style of pitching in which pitchers sacrifice control in favor of spin and velocity.”
Along with policing foreign substances, MLB will, for the first time, employ humidors in all 30 stadiums this season, a change that could increase offense throughout the sport, particularly in humid climates like Tampa and San Francisco.
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