Eno Sarris in the Athletic:
https://theathletic.com/2183861/2020/11/09/pitchers-pine-tar-grip-mlb-time-to-legalize/?source=freedailyemail
At first we might get the aforementioned "strikeouts and strikeouts alone" effect, but I think hitters would be forced to adjust by cutting down their swings and putting more balls in play.
I think baseball really needs to adjust their balls, so to speak. Seems like it's becoming a big issue that is impacting the quality of their product in several ways, but I haven't seen anything that says Manfred (or Clark) even understands that at all.
https://theathletic.com/2183861/2020/11/09/pitchers-pine-tar-grip-mlb-time-to-legalize/?source=freedailyemail
How much of an advantage is it? Some claim it is a huge help.Your favorite pitcher is probably cheating.
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. That’s the consensus of nearly 20 major league hitters, pitchers and pitching coaches who spoke to The Athletic in the last month. The median answer was more than three-quarters of the league, but five respondents thought the portion was much closer to 100 percent.
“Almost everyone is using something,” said a coach with experience in several major league organizations.
“My guess on total MLB players using some sort of grip enhancement … 99.9 percent,” said another coach who has worked with multiple major leaguers.
Those who are loading up with a “grip enhancement” on the mound are violating Official Baseball Rule 6.02, which states that the pitcher may not “apply a foreign substance of any kind to the ball” or “have on his person, or in his possession, any foreign substance” or “attach anything to his hand, any finger, or either wrist.”
So should we start a witch hunt to eradicate and ban these cheaters? Instead, MLB should probably just listen to Peter Tosh and Legalize It.The advantages of using grip substances are unmistakable.
“It’s better than steroids,” said one player development executive about the benefits, which have been demonstrated by major league pitchers in real time before. Trevor Bauer, after making some comments about how a pitcher could add spin rate and throwing some shade at Astros pitchers, ended up doing what can only be described as a public experiment when it appears he added spin rate to his fastball for one inning in 2018, when he was with Cleveland.
Going from nothing on the ball to applying Pelican Grip added more than 300 rpm to this pitcher’s fastball and more than three inches of extra movement. That’s enough to move from 39th on the fastball spin leaderboard (Sam Selman with 2476 rpm) to first (Bauer, with 2776 rpm). See how much each substance changed the spin and movement on the same pitcher’s fastball.
I would love it if they could come up with a baseball that pitchers can grip effectively that reduced home runs and led to more balls in play.But, rather than try to eradicate such a widespread practice, it might make more sense for Major League Baseball to legalize it. Because of ongoing innovation in the grip substance marketplace, the difficulty of enforcement, the perils of selective enforcement and the flaws in alternative solutions, the simplest way out of this current situation may be to find some sort of substance that satisfies the pitcher’s needs and hopefully ends the race to develop better grip...
....Rawlings and the league are working on a tacky ball, and it was tested in the Atlantic League last year, but one complaint from a hitter seems ominous for a league that has struggled with ball changes over the last five years.
“The big difference for me was that they felt a little bit softer than the other ball,” former Reds catcher Ramon Cabrera told Newsday last year. “… I really liked it. But when we’re hitting, the balls don’t jump like the regular ones. So, we hit a couple line drives and a couple balls really hard, and the balls didn’t go anywhere.”
Does baseball want to risk taking the carry out of the ball at a time when strikeout rate also has risen to an all-time high? The reward would be that strikeouts and home runs both go down, and perhaps more balls are put in play — but the risk is that only the home run rate comes down, and viewers are rewarded with a game that is reduced to strikeouts and strikeouts alone.
At first we might get the aforementioned "strikeouts and strikeouts alone" effect, but I think hitters would be forced to adjust by cutting down their swings and putting more balls in play.
I think baseball really needs to adjust their balls, so to speak. Seems like it's becoming a big issue that is impacting the quality of their product in several ways, but I haven't seen anything that says Manfred (or Clark) even understands that at all.
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