Something odd is happening in baseball this year

[Doctor X]

In Cleveland?

– J.D.

[Pyrrho]

Sounds more annoying than anything. One thing about living in California, particularly in a large city, are virtual lack of insects. So I've learned something, thanks Pyrrho.

A healthy population of midges means plenty of food for the animals that depend on insects as food.

Maybe we can have nice things?

Midges are the closest things the Indians have to a "ringer". Videos at the link.

https://www.mlb.com/news/bug-game-forev ... c257346172

It was the eighth inning of Game 2 of the ALDS, and the then-rookie Chamberlain was on the mound trying to protect New York's 1-0 lead and even the best-of-five set. But a swarm of midges had descended upon the ballpark, then known as Jacobs Field. Chamberlain, with no "Sultan of Swat" to protect him, got pretty bugged out. He walked Grady Sizemore, threw a wild pitch and eventually -- after a mid-inning pause as the Yankees' team trainer sprayed Chamberlain with insect repellent -- threw another wild pitch to let the tying run home.
The Indians went on to win, 2-1, on Travis Hafner's walk-off single in the 11th inning, en route to a four-game win in the series.
Gnat's all, folks.

[Doctor X]

Of course when the midges landed on Josh Beckett, they died.







Too soon?

– J.D.

[Grammatron]

Report: MLB slightly deadening ball amid HR surge

NEW YORK — Major League Baseball has slightly deadened its baseballs amid a years-long surge in home runs.

MLB anticipates the changes will be subtle, and a memo to teams last week cited an independent lab that found the new balls will fly 1 to 2 feet shorter when hit over 375 feet. Five teams also plan to add humidors to their stadiums, raising the total to 10 of 30 MLB stadiums equipped with humidity-controlled storage spaces.

A person familiar with the note spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Monday because the memo, sent by MLB executive vice president of baseball operations Morgan Sword, was sent privately. The Athletic first reported the contents of the memo.

The makeup of official Rawlings baseballs used in MLB games has come under scrutiny in recent years. A record 6,776 homers were hit during the 2019 regular season, and the rate of home runs fell only slightly during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season – from 6.6% of plate appearances resulting in homers in 2019 to 6.5% last year.

A four-person committee of scientists commissioned by MLB concluded after the 2019 season that baseballs had less drag on average than in previous seasons, contributing to the power surge. Their report blamed the spike in part on inconsistencies in seam height.

[robinson]

Makes sense

[Grammatron]

'This Should Be the Biggest Scandal in Sports'
The inside story of how rampant pitch-doctoring in MLB is pumping pitchers up and deflating offenses.

To understand the fiasco of baseball’s 2021 season, which people around the game describe as sullied by rampant cheating to a degree not seen since the steroid era, all you have to do is pick up a ball.

Then try to put it back down.

One ball made its way into an NL dugout last week, where players took turns touching a palm to the sticky material coating it and lifting the baseball, adhered to their hand, into the air. Another one, corralled in a different NL dugout, had clear-enough fingerprints indented in the goo that opponents could mimic the pitcher’s grip. A third one, also in the NL, was so sticky that when an opponent tried to pull the glue off, three inches of seams came off with it.

Over the past two or three years, pitchers’ illegal application to the ball of what they call “sticky stuff”—at first a mixture of sunscreen and rosin, now various forms of glue—has become so pervasive that one recently retired hurler estimates “80 to 90%” of pitchers are using it in some capacity. The sticky stuff helps increase spin on pitches, which in turn increases their movement, making them more difficult to hit. That’s contributed to an offensive crisis that has seen the league-wide batting average plummet to a historically inept .236. (Sports Illustrated spoke with more than two dozen people; most of them requested anonymity to discuss cheating within their own organizations.)

From the dugout, players and coaches shake their heads as they listen to pitchers’ deliveries. “You can hear the friction,” says an American League manager. The recently retired pitcher likens it to the sound of ripping off a Band-Aid. A major league team executive says his players have examined foul balls and found the MLB logo torn straight off the leather.

In many clubhouses across the sport, the training room has become the scene of the crime: Pitchers head in there before games to swipe tongue depressors, which they use to apply their sticky stuff to wherever they choose to hide it, then return afterward to grab rubbing alcohol to dissolve the residue. Even that is not always sufficient. One National League journeyman reliever, who says he uses Pelican Grip Dip, a pine tar/rosin blend typically used by hitters to help grip their bats, has been flagged at airport security.

[Doctor X]

I listened to various talking heads on the subject today. One of them, a former journeyman ball player, said he use to argue that he preferred the pitchers have a good grip on the ball rather than than risk getting hit in the head.

He has changed his opinion.

In his view, only the Commissioner can enforce this, and he listed ideas, to which his Venerable Colleague asked:

"How are those pitch clocks going?"

– J.D.

[Anaxagoras]

Has anyone been caught?

If a team suspects the other pitcher is using it, can't they say something to the umpire and have him go check?

Rosin is actually approved, isn't it? There's a bag of rosin on the pitching mound. Sunscreen is probably also legal to apply to one's skin.

[Hotarubi]

I listened to various talking heads on the subject today. One of them, a former journeyman ball player, said he use to argue that he preferred the pitchers have a good grip on the ball rather than than risk getting hit in the head.

This seasons HBP rate is the highest since the 19th century and has been on an upward trend recently.

However there may be more than one reason apart from gooey balls inc. equipment and "fashionable" pitches. Collective fastballs are slowing down for example. High 4-Seam FB over Low 2 seam FB etc.

Just sayin'.

[Doctor X]

There is a simple solution that is already in place: inspect the balls.

– J.D.

[robinson]

That would be racist

[Anaxagoras]

MLB players caught with any foreign substance to face 10-day suspension, sources say

Major League Baseball is expected to announce Tuesday that it will suspend players caught with any foreign substance for 10 days with pay to help curtail the widespread use of grip enhancers by pitchers around the league, sources familiar with the plans told ESPN.

The league is expected to distribute a memo to teams -- which have been briefed on the broad strokes of the policy change -- that outlines its plans to penalize all players caught by umpires with any foreign substance on their person, from the widely used sunscreen-and-rosin combination to Spider Tack, an industrial glue that has become a favorite among pitchers who want to generate more spin on the ball.

The liberal interpretation of Rules 3.01 and 6.02(c), which ban the use of foreign substances, would discipline all substances the same. While there is a "broad consensus among players that Spider Tack is over the line," a high-ranking person on the players' side told ESPN on Monday, the full ban of all grip agents could rankle players. A longtime umpire told ESPN the hard line is vital as he and his brethren attempt an on-the-fly enforcement of a rule that for years has been ignored.

However significant players' reliance on sticky stuff has become, and regardless of how responsible teams and the league were for enabling another cheating scandal to burrow its way into baseball, the efforts to rid the game of grip enhancers have arrived and will begin in earnest June 21, sources said.

Five hit batsmen in the game I'm watching right now. None apparently intentional, but one was in the noggin and looked bad.

[Doctor X]

Spin rates are suddenly down, apparently.

– J.D.

[Doctor X]

Here seems to be a summary of the physics involved.

– J.D.

[Doctor X]

Could be to blame for this?




What?

– J.D.

[Pyrrho]

Link:

[Grammatron]

[Doctor X]

Oh the Sports Dudedom exploded on this.

One former ball player suggests that this will become a tactic to break the rhythm of a pitcher.

He also conceded that pitchers are "whiny bitches."

It is funny though. Spin rate is down on some pitchers.

– J.D.

[Pyrrho]

Word is that Cleveland has entomology students investigating the adhesion coefficient of midges.

[Doctor X]

I thought they were just attracted to smelly fat boys.

– J.D.

[Grammatron]

Buck Showalter: ‘Challenge’ for pitchers to grip ball under new MLB rules

WASHINGTON — Sticky-substance checks might be offering peace of mind at the expense of a sense of security.

Mets manager Buck Showalter spent part of Friday afternoon talking with his coaching staff about how difficult it is for pitchers to get a firm grip on the baseball as the season begins. It was the topic du jour because James McCann (twice) and Pete Alonso were hit by pitches from the Nationals in an Opening Day victory.

“I’ve never quite figured out how hitters can have pine tar, batting gloves and wrap their bats — and everything to hold onto the tool they are supposed to work with — but a pitcher can’t,” Showalter said. “Does that seem fair? Hopefully we can find a happy medium, because it is a challenge right now with these guys gripping the baseball.”

It didn’t sound as if the Mets were looking to start a beanball war or ask ace Max Scherzer to start plunking his former teammates Friday as retaliation for what Showalter considers “a common theme” across MLB. There were eight hit by pitches in seven games Thursday.

And apparently the balls are different this season too, but I am still looking for a confirmation to that claim.

[Doctor X]

Yeah, but what has Buck ever won?

– J.D.

P.S. MFY still cheating.

[Pyrrho]

"Pitchers want a firmer grip on their balls" and "Pitchers are having trouble grabbing their tools" seems on par for 2022.

[robinson]

Make the game more exciting

Grease up the balls