Sources: MLB umpires to crack down on pitchers using illegal substances on baseballs

[Auggie]

espn.com

After repeated efforts by Major League Baseball to dissuade pitchers from using illegal substances to get a better grip on the ball and create more spin, the league is going to crack down on the practice by giving umpires more latitude.

Details on the more aggressive enforcement were still being worked out after owners were informed that the practice is prevalent around baseball, sources told ESPN.

MLB has gathered plenty of data after two months of collecting a random sampling of baseballs and shipping them to a third-party laboratory for inspection of foreign substances. But it will not use that data to punish pitchers retroactively, a source told ESPN. That information, however, could be communicated to umpires so that they know whom to closely monitor within games.

Umpire enforcement, which will now take place more regularly without an initial ask by a manager, is a crucial element to MLB's hopes of policing foreign substances. But other aspects are expected to be involved, including the possibility of suspensions for those caught using.

MORE: https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/31561291/mlb-umpires-crack-pitchers-using-illegal-substances-baseballs

Applause, with noted exception (which is a little troubling): But it will not use that data to punish pitchers retroactively, a source told ESPN. That information, however, could be communicated to umpires so that they know whom to closely monitor within games.

This is troubling: The article reports pitchers that umpires "monitor" could be based on a "random sampling of baseballs," meaning it would not be impartial.

[House of Roberts]

1. Some context for the uninitiated:

A Major League Pitcher's Guide To Doctoring A Baseball

https://deadspin.com/a-major-league-pitchers-guide-to-doctoring-a-baseball-1562307090

[bpj62]

2. Lots more souvenirs

Get ready to see a lot more game used baseballs tossed into the stands by the ball boys. The catchers know which pitcher is guilty and they will make those balls hard to find.

[rsdsharp]

3. Oh, I don't know. If an umpire sees a slider that rotates at 3600 rpm,

and breaks 22 inches. He might just ask the catcher for the ball. What’s he gonna say? No?

[bpj62]

5. Good question

The umpire has a ball bag that he keeps unused and used balls in. Unless he marks that ball he will have a hard time tracking the question. This is going to get interesting.

[rsdsharp]

7. No, he'll call the ball boy out and tell him to take the ball to the umpire's dressing room.

[bpj62]

6. Good question

The umpire has a ball bag that he keeps unused and used balls in. Unless he marks that ball he will have a hard time tracking the ball in question. This is going to get interesting.

[Brother Buzz]

4. Somewhere, out there on the dark web, Gaylord Perry wrote a manual on how to

circumvent all this nonsense.