Almost every pitcher in MLB has experienced a drop in his spin rate since the league started enhancing its enforcement against sticky substances.
But Garrett Richards has seen a bigger decrease than all but two hurlers.
The New York Times recently analyzed data from every fastball from 2017 to 2021 (about 1.7 million pitches in total), and compared the change in spin rates in previous seasons with what’s happened in 2021.
Since June 15, fastball spin rates fell for all but 29 of the 131 pitchers whom the Times examined. Richards is No. 3 on the list, with his fastball losing an average of 206 revolutions per minute. James Kaprielian of the Athletics and Trevor Bauer of the Dodgers are No. 1 and No. 2 on the list, respectively. (Gerrit Cole, who was tongue-tied when first asked about his use of sticky stuff, is at No. 7.)
Richards, 33, saw his performance suffer dramatically after MLB had announced its new edict. He posted an 8.31 ERA in five starts from June 6 through June 28, allowing opponents to slug .644.
In other words, the right-hander with nasty stuff was throwing glorified batting practice.
Richards wasn’t shy about sharing his frustration. “It’s changed pretty much everything for me. It’s changed a lot for me,” he told reporters on June 23 after an atrocious start against the Rays (five runs in 1 2/3 innings). “I feel like I need to be a different pitcher than I’ve been the last nine and a half years.”
That line didn’t garner Richards sympathy from baseball fans tired of rising strikeout rates and a sluggish pace of play. Since then, Richards has spoken more positively about his situation, saying he’s learning to adapt.
“I’ve had to reinvent a lot of things, but I’ve already talked about that stuff, so I’m trying to move forward,” he said on July 10. “I’m trying to improve. I’m about taking steps forward now.”
Richards’ numbers back up his newfound optimism. He’s allowed five runs over his first two starts in July. (He'll take the hill Tuesday night against Toronto.)
Overall, Red Sox starters have fared well since MLB upped its enforcement of illicit substances, posting a 3.69 ERA over the last 30 days. That is the fourth-best ERA in the American League.
Still, offense is increasing across the game, with strikeout rates falling and walk rates moving upwards. MLB’s midseason changes are having the desired affect around the league.
As Richards said, it’s now up to hurlers to adapt.
