Kangaroo court is in session in Major League Baseball.
In a game where pitchers literally used to throw spitballs, the crackdown of hurlers using illegal substances to enhance their spin rate (or nastiness of their stuff) is about to begin.
The great Tim Kurkjian from ESPN and Baseball Tonight is one of the most elite baseball commentators in the world today. And he spent some time chatting with DD on The Dan Dakich Show Wednesday.
This guy knows more than just about everybody; Plus he’s supremely entertaining.
But in all seriousness, if pitchers continue to use illegal substances on the baseball, they’re in trouble.
The rumor has been that Major League Baseball would suspend the guilty player for 10 days (or two starts) without pay. But the thing is, umpires can go to the mound without any evidence that a player is cheating.
Rob Manfred supposedly wants to speed up the game right? But he has no problem with an umpire walking out to check the center fielder’s mitt for pine tar.
It’s confusing sometimes.
“I’ve been told by hitters this year that they have never seen pitches move like this before,” Kurkjian said. “That’s what our hitters are saying now, and that’s part of the problem. But this may be just angry hitters who are batting .189 and going back to the bench. But if there is an illegal substance on the ball that makes your slider move an extra four inches, that’s just not fair.”
Kurkjian also told DD that this type of crackdown work can start by Monday. That means some of these guys are going to have to mind their Ps and Qs asap.
Quick story here.
As many of you know, I have worked in baseball since graduating from Butler University in 2017. I have been with multiple teams, and many of those teams have hosted Major League Baseball players rehabbing.
I won’t say the team or pitcher, but I went up to the guy after his rehab start. And I point blank asked him about foreign substances on the baseball after a few guys were talking about it in the clubhouse earlier that morning. I asked him how many MLB players use this stuff for an extra advantage.
He told me at least 80 percent.
This is about to be a big change in the game of baseball.
Subscribe to The Dan Dakich Show Podcast
