Mets360 - When did cheating become a way of life?

 

By Jennifer Corozza November 17, 2020

Eno Sarris published an article in the Athletic two days before the Cy Young winners were announced, one of whom was Trevor Bauer. The main thrust of the article was that most pitchers cheat and it’s acceptable. Specifically, after speaking with close to 20 MLB hitters, pitchers, and pitching coaches, Sarris stated that “a large majority of big league pitchers right now are using some sort of extra-grip substance to impart more spin — and therefore more movement — on the ball.”

Please note that Official Baseball Rule 6.02(c)(4) states that “pitcher may not apply any foreign substance to the ball. This goes beyond the ‘expectorate’ prohibition and applies to anything at all (including dirt).” This is relevant to all 30 MLB teams including the Mets, especially considering the biggest free agent (FA) pitcher on the market is Bauer, the 2020 NL Cy Young winner. While Sarris was informed that most pitchers use foreign substances, Bauer was quoted extensively in this article and there are allegations that he has used some sort of sticky substance to assist with increasing his spin rate. One of the quotes in the Athletic reads as follows:

“For eight years I’ve been trying to figure out how to increase the spin on my fastball because I’d identified it way back then as such a massive advantage,” Bauer himself wrote in a piece for The Players’ Tribune. “I knew that if I could learn to increase it through training and technique, it would be huge. But eight years later, I haven’t found any other way except using foreign substances.”

While Bauer may not be alone, he is one of the only MLB pitchers to put his name to using foreign substances on the ball. He never stated specifically that he did it in 2020, but rumors are out there and Sarris’ article indicates most, if not all, pitchers load up the ball in some form of another. Once upon a time, it seemed this practice was only a veteran pitcher’s purview as stated hilariously by one fictional Ed Harris of Major League fame:

Wild Thing: You put snot on the ball?

Harris: I haven’t got an arm like yours. I gotta put anything on it I can find. Someday you will, too.

If most pitchers cheat, then what is cheating? Where does one draw the line? 

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