Major League Baseball sent out its anticipated memo to teams this week regarding its new, firm stance on the use of illegal substances by pitchers, an epidemic that has been cast in a brighter light this season.
The penalties include ejection and a 10-game paid suspension for pitchers that are caught with an illegal substance, which now includes the popular sunscreen and rosin mix, meaning the pitching landscape as a whole could look a lot different starting next week when the penalties begin to be enforced.
"I think there's a chance it can certainly have an impact," Aaron Boone said. "It's hard for me to know for sure. It's hard for me to know how many pitchers are using what and what level of advantage they're gaining. I think in the end, ultimately the goal for major league baseball is to have a level playing field…in the long run, hopefully it's something good for our game."
Across town, Mets manager Luis Rojas doesn't think the new rules, which have already in a sense been in place just not enforced as strictly, will have a major impact on the game or offensive numbers, which the league hopes to see improve after a historically low start to the season.
"It's not too much of a difference of what's in the rulebook, I always refer to the rulebook in talking about substances being applied to the baseball," Rojas said. "We're going to get the guys together at some point today, pregame of course, and relay the same message that was relayed to me about how outgoing the umpires are going to be, maybe opposing managers are going to be about this rule."
Rojas is more concerned about hitter safety declining rather than hitter performance improving as a result of the substance crackdown, as he had a front row seat for a scary incident when a 94 mph fastball got away from Jacob Webb and hit Kevin Pillar in the face earlier this season, resulting in multiple facial fractures.
"Personally, I don't think it's going to change much," Rojas said. "We saw the whole Gerrit Cole/Josh Donaldson matchup the other day…I just don't know about the spike in spin rate and stuff getting better…I'm aware of guys trying to find a grip just because of command. For me personally, I don't want to see a guy like Kevin Pillar get hit…I just pray no one gets hit and no pitcher loses the ball."
Cole has been front and center among the sticky substance discourse, with all eyes on his spin rate in recent starts due to comments from players like Donaldson and a recent report implicating his involvement with an Angels clubhouse attendant who used to provide pitchers with his own homemade substance. But Boone thinks the focus shouldn't be on individual pitchers, as the use of sticky substances is clearly a league-wide issue, and the results of these crackdowns should be viewed in a similar scope.
"I think this is more looking at it as a whole, as a pitching industry," Boone said. "I think it's clear, whatever percentage you want to put on it, there's a large percentage of pitchers who use something that is now not going to be acceptable. Everything from a guy trying to just gain a little extra grip to where we've seen people take it probably too far to help their pitch design and help them really gain an edge. I'm not gonna speculate on how it will affect certain individuals. I think we look at it as the weeks unfold, as the months unfold, and I'm sure we'll all make our judgements on how it affects us as a sport and as an industry, but I think right now, all it is is speculating."
One pitcher in Tyler Glasnow has already sounded off about MLB's memo, saying that the sudden change in enforcement likely played a part in his recent injury, a partially torn UCL. Glasnow told reporters on Tuesday that hitters had no problem with the sunscreen/rosin concoction, and the league should have waited until the offseason so pitchers can adjust and avoid injury. Boone and Rojas have had multiple starters suffer injuries this season, and the last thing they want to see is an injury uptick as pitchers try to adjust on the fly without substances to aid their grip.
"I think there's that little bit of concern of 'what is the effect? How does that effect us?'" Boone said. "I guess I concern myself a little with that, but we also understand it's probably gotten to a point that has certainly crossed the line…the bottom line is we have a template now of what the parameters are, what's allowed and what's not, and we have to deal with that. Hopefully that doesn't lead to some unintended consequences, especially like injuries, because that's the last thing you want to see."
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