I'm baffled by the fact that MLB didn't pair this crackdown with a public commitment to uniformly prep the balls for the game so that grip was not an issue.
It seems like a gem-tumbler-equivalent could be used pre-game so that every ball has exactly the same grip. And maybe they need to scuff up the balls more if they are eliminating any sticky substances.
Here is the current rule: "The umpire shall inspect the baseballs and ensure they are regulation baseballs and that they are properly rubbed so that the gloss is removed. The umpire shall be thesole judge of the fitness of the balls to be used in the game."
The thing is, sweat makes grip difficult regardless of the ball condition. For example, I coach at a high school in Utah where everything is dry as we’re in the middle of the desert. Even sweat doesn’t hang around on your hands long. We take our kids to tournaments in the Midwest and on the East Coast. The sweat stays on their hands and everything becomes slick. Our guys that hit without gloves use liquid chalk on their hands when they go to the on-deck circle. Our pitchers have to load up on rosin every pitch, and the balls we use have higher seams and aren’t nearly as slick as the MLB balls. Maybe MLB pitchers can get their substances back through annoying Manfred by spending the extra time to go to the rosin bag between every pitch?
As a side note, I was talking to a family friend who pitched for the Twins and spent 25 years coaching minor league baseball once his playing career was over. He retired this winter. He said nearly every bullpen in pro ball had a sack with everything you could imagine to help pitchers enhance their grip. I can’t speak to the truthfulness of that, but it’s what he said he experienced.
Here's something I don't get: if the pitchers prefer rubbed down balls - balls that have been worn a bit and are not brand new and slick, why oh why is the ball thrown away anytime a pitch hits the dirt, and the pitcher is provided with a virgin fresh ball as a replacement?
I'm really asking, this is not provocative. Something I've always been curious about.
Because scuffs on the ball make it move more.
High schools in Utah pay for their own baseballs until the state tournament. We start every game with six new balls, but cycle in old, slightly worn balls if people are slow getting fouls back to the field. We teach our pitchers and catchers not to throw scuffed or cut balls to the umpire unless asked to do so. We instruct them to hold the scuff on the opposite side of the way they want the ball to move. It makes such a difference that they usually only get to throw one or two pitches before the umpire notices and calls for the ball, which then immediately gets thrown out.