Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
Major League Baseball is attempting to crack down on the use of foreign substances, which can give pitcher’s unfair advantages over the hitters. By using a sticky substance like pine tar, a pitcher can generate a higher spin rate and ultimately create more movement on their pitches.
According to MLB insider Jeff Passan and a memo he obtained for ESPN, Major League Baseball is adding more safeguards to try to slow the use of foreign substances in the game. These new guidelines include the following:
- Increased monitoring by compliance officers
- Inspections of baseballs taken out of play that will use a third-party lab to check for substances
- Spin-rate analysis
Adding compliance officers at each ballpark should at least make it more difficult to get away with the use of foreign substances as these officers will be monitoring dugouts, clubhouses, tunnels, batting cages and bullpens.
They will be able to take random samples of the balls at any time, sending them back to the lab where they will be tested not only for which foreign substance was used but how it affected a pitcher’s spin rates and effectiveness based on Statcast data.
One of the most important notes in the memo however is the fact that players will be subject to discipline by the league office if they are caught using a foreign substances. The stricter MLB is with punishments for pitchers, the better chance they have to put an end to the use of foreign substances.
