On the TunneySide of Sports June 28, 2021 #854 Up next… A Sticky Issue
After further review… Major League Baseball season is now in full swing. Fans are back in the seats, although limited in some states as some powers-that-be are convinced that the COVID-19 is not over! The players are aware of the possible coronavirus dangers but go about their business as usual.
The key to our “America’s national pastime” is the ball itself, which is not made in America!
That regulation baseball is 9-9 1/4 inches, weighs 5-5 1/4 ounces. It is bound together by 108 handwoven stitches through cowhide leather and manufactured by Rawlings with their plant in Costa Rica. Recently those balls were considered “hot” so MLB ordered Rawlings this year (2021) that they had to adjust their manufacturing process to reduce the bounce of the ball. They have! Batters didn’t like it!
The pitchers did! For them that wasn’t enough – never is! Every pitcher wants to throw a no-hitter! They don’t like seeing Rawlings sail over the fence. So, they invent ways that Rawlings couldn’t/wouldn’t do. The battle between pitchers and batters has always been a ”mind-game.” Pitchers have a variety of pitches at their disposal: fastball, curveball, slider, etc. Plus, a variety of velocities with speeds exceeding 100 plus MPH — from 60-feet to 6-inches away!
However, that’s not enough for some pitchers. Thus, came techniques such as using sandpaper, files, grease, etc. to “doctor” that Rawlings ball. These illegal devices make the ball jump or move during that 60-6 journey to the plate in an attempt to fool the hitter. Now comes Spider Tack that some of today’s MLB pitchers are being accused of using. It is a sticky substance illegally applied to a ball that can change the ball’s spin rate. Garret Cole, New York Yankees pitcher, was being accused of using Spider Tack and responded saying he “didn’t know how to answer that question.”
Cole continued “There are customs and practices that have been passed down from older players to younger players and there are certain things that are out of bounds,” (No, we don’t think he answered that question either). Cole continued and flipped those accusations over to the offensive side of the game, saying “batters are using gloves and pine tar and base-runners are using stickum on their gloves so when sliding into a base their hand will stick to the bag.” While the Spider Tack question has yet to be answered, umpires are now being ordered to “examine” every pitcher’s glove and hat when he exits.
MLB recently issued the warning that any “doctoring” of the baseball will lead to a 10-game suspension!
Stay tuned for the MLB Ball Mudder Machine!
Will you log-in about who should control illegal substances that pitchers may be using?
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Jim’s books contain stories and others like these. Check out Steve Young’s story in “Chicken Soup for the Sports Fans’ Soul” a New York Times Best Seller here.
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To contact Jim, go to www.jimtunney.com or email jim@jimtunney.com.
