Fired Angels employee alleges knowledge of the illegal hold substance used by Cole, Verlander, Scherzer, Wainwright, more

Fired Angels employee alleges knowledge of the illegal hold substance used by Cole, Verlander, Scherzer, Wainwright, more

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To begin, I will say again that I will not exempt the MLB from any of the following. Not unlike the Steroids Era, the MLB knows that players are increasingly using illegal substances to improve their game on the pitch and have not acted. Furthermore, not unlike the steroid era, there is reason to believe that the use of illegal substances is rampant. Neither is an excuse for players, but it is an important context before you become VERY morally fair.

Of course, this time, I’m not talking about the kind of illegal substances that you put in your body to improve performance; I’m talking about the kind of illegal substances that you put in your body to improve performance. In other words, illegal products to increase the grip that pitchers use to generate extra spin, which can have a tremendous impact on the shape and movement of pitches.

Earlier this year, a Los Angeles Angels employee was fired after being connected to the distribution of a special substance to increase adherence to the visitors’ club headquarters. Former employee Bubba Harkins is suing the Angels and MLB for defamation, claiming that a scapegoat is being made, despite the fact that all of this was well known in the game. And in its most recent files, there are significant allegations about who was receiving its substance and / or who the MLB already knows has been using illegal footprint enhancers.

From ESPN:

O [filings include] a statement by Harkins in which he recalled an interview on March 26 with lawyers from MLB and the Angels. During the interview, says Harkins, he identified Cole, Justin Verlander, Edwin Jackson, Max Scherzer, Felix Hernandez, Corey Kluber, Joba Chamberlain, Adam Wainwright and Tyler Chatwood among pitchers who previously requested their specific mixture of pine and resin tar, which became popular throughout the league after he won over former player Troy Percival over 20 years ago.

Harkins also named several current and former Angels – Percival, Brendan Donnelly, Kevin Jepsen, Cam Bedrosian, Keynan Middleton, Yusmeiro Petit, Luke Bard, Matt Andriese, Dylan Peters, Jose Suarez, Kaleb Cowart and Dylan Bundy – who used the mixture.

Some very recognizable names there, obviously, and the question is less about making a “gotcha” but about how wide it is. These are just the guys named by a former club attendant, and they reach guys from all over the league (including, you will notice, the former Cubs pitcher, Tyler Chatwood). Again, it is believed that the use of illegal footprint enhancers is increasing throughout the game.

To that end, my problem was never with pitchers who want to maximize grip to grab. Heck, hitters like it when they know that a pitcher is not going to totally lose control and throw one over their heads. In addition, with the MLB constantly stirring the baseball, I believe when pitchers say that pitch is sometimes not enough if the ball is too smooth.

Where I draw the line, however, is when pitchers are CLEARLY using the grip material to dramatically increase their swing rate. They know the impact this can have on performance and they know it is against the rules. So, they are cheating. Let’s make that very clear.

One of Harkins’ most obscene claims is a text message he says he received from Yankees ace Gerrit Cole: “Hey, Bubba, it’s Gerrit Cole. I was wondering if you could help me with this complicated situation [winky face emoji]. We won’t see you until May, but we have some road games in April that are in cold weather locations. What I had last year crashes when it gets cold … ”

The fact that Cole is involved here shouldn’t surprise anyone, because we’ve talked about this before. An August topic, where Trevor Bauer is necessarily discussed as well:

Bonus? Imagine the stones on this guy to say this now:

I understand that Bauer thinks he was proving a point last year, massively increasing his own rotation rate (which, again, he says is not possible without adhesion enhancers), but he also won the Cy Young award for of this. I really don’t understand how you can do that and then go out singing.

Anyway. Bauer has long been right about one thing: there are pitchers who cheat under current rules. A lot of them. Probably too many to “punish” at this point. But the MLB will have to continue to work on this issue, because the benefits of having a massive increase in turnover rate – even if poorly achieved – may be too much for pitchers to refuse, especially when there is this gray area of, “Oh, well, I’m just using it to get a better grip for control and safety, and MLB is not punishing anyone for it, so it’s okay if I also manage to spin a little more. “

Oh, one last reminder: simply adding spin to your pitches, by itself, does not make you a great pitcher. You also have to do that additional spin I work for you, which is more complex and for which the pitchers deserve credit. But, well, having the spin added obviously helps movement and life in your pitches, which is why the teams are looking for you so much.

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