The MLB is Back at it Again With Their Substance Rulings
The MLB has been cracking down on substances off and on for a few years now. It feels like in 2021 they were really concerned about it, in 2022 it seemed like they didn't really care at all, and now in 2023 they are concerned about it again. The issue so far this year though, is the discipline taken on it. The 2 cases I want to compare are Domingo German of the New York Yankees and Max Scherzer of the New York Mets. Both happened within a week of each other.
The New York Yankees played the Minnesota Twins on Jackie Robinson Day and in the end of the 3rd inning German was being investigated for having some sort of sticky substance on his hands. The umpiring crew deliberated and talked to German for a decent amount of time, then in the beginning of the 4th the umpires checked German again, took a long time, and eventually German walked back out to the mound. Normally this doesn't happen, because if the umpires are talking that long, usually they have found a substance, and the pitcher would be ejected. Twins manager Rocco Baldelli called out the umpiring crew on this, and after arguing with them for a minute or two, Rocco was the one that got ejected, and German remained on the mound.
In the New York Mets game, Max Scherzer was being accused of the same thing. In between the 3rd Inning Scherzer was inspected, and the umpire said he needed to wash his hands and reapply the rosin he was using. Scherzer complied and reapplied his rosin. Scherzer pitched the 4th Inning and the umpire inspected him again. This time the umpire threw Scherzer out of the game and said it was the stickiest hand they have seen in 3 years since they started cracking down on it again. Scherzer claimed it was only sweat and rosin on his hand and he was using nothing foreign. The day after, Scherzer was suspended for 10 games due to the violation.
Using sticky substances helps with spin rate and allows for a better grip on the baseball when pitching. Data can be captured on said spin rates for each pitch. These are taken every game. When you compare the spin rates in the charts below, you'll see German's spin rates were much higher than his average for the season. Scherzer's on the other hand look very close if the not same the entire year. Some of them very even LOWER than previous games in the year.
A lot of people have suspicion that the league is just protecting the Yankees, because they are one of, if not the biggest market in the MLB. I think there could be some truth to that, but who knows. I think if the MLB is going to keep cracking down on foreign substances they need to stay consistent with their ruling and do better at investigating. Its not rocket science to read spin rate graphs and tell that Scherzer's hadn't changed. Both scenarios went down pretty similarly, but only Scherzer was tossed and suspended. Do better MLB.
Comments
Post a Comment