Pirates pitcher Tyler Anderson thinks Rob Manfred should look inward when casting blame for MLB's sticky ball scandal.
In a post-game session Tuesday with reporters, the veteran hurler said MLB's practice of changing the baseball every year led pitchers to overcompensate with foreign substances. "I'm sure some guys will have bigger problems than other guys," Anderson said, via Yahoo Sports. "I feel like this was just a problem created by Manfred by changing the ball every year."
Now, there's an excuse-making element to Anderson's words. The veteran surrendered six runs over six innings, and is the second Pittsburgh starter in one week to blame the baseballs for his poor performance.
But still, Anderson does have a point. On Tuesday, MLB announced players would be suspended 10 games for illegally doctoring baseballs. The league is banning every substance besides rosin, including sunscreen, which pitchers routinely use to field better grips.
Former Pirates right-hander Tyler Glasnow recently blamed the new edict for his season-ending injury. "I truly believe 100 percent that's why I got hurt," said Glasnow, who's the best pitcher on the Tampa Bay Rays. "I'm frustrated MLB doesn't understand. You can't just tell us to use nothing. It's crazy."
With offense plummeting and strikeouts soaring, MLB was forced to act. The game cannot sacrifice entertainment — or in this case, fairness — for spin rate. Early data indicates the policy has already been a success. Since June 3, the average fastball spin rate has dropped fell from 2,329 revolutions per minute to 2,226, according to MLB Statcast.
But the players are also being scapegoated here. MLB purchased Rawlings in 2018, giving it total control of the baseballs. Each year, the design of the ball changes. Two years ago, MLB altered the seams, leading to more home runs. To combat that, the league deadened the ball this season.
Unsurprisingly, we've seen offense fall off.
"When your pitches aren't doing something the same, I think guys probably out of desperation look for other ways to try and get their pitches to go back to what they were," Anderson said. "At some point, some guys probably crossed the line because they found out pitches got a little nastier than maybe they were before whenever they found some other substances."
MLB's sudden reversal when it comes to sticky stuff is causing a midseason witch hunt, never mind player dissension. Per usual, the league is creating an even bigger mess.
Maybe Manfred should listen to Anderson and take some responsibility.
