Rob Manfred and MLB announced a midseason ban on ‘foreign substances’ used by pitchers to improve their grip. Some players are rightfully ticked off.
Trevor Bauer is never one to shy away from a debate.
On Tuesday afternoon, just a few hours after a memo was sent out from the league office to players and teams explaining the new rules, Bauer took to social media to issue a response of sorts.
Bauer had to feel targeted to some extent — his spin rate has declined considerably in recent weeks, an attribute commonly associated with the use of sticky, or foreign, substances.
Whether he was one of the main contributors to the foreign substance movement or not, Major League Baseball implementing a rule change midseason is borderline dangerous. Just ask Tyler Glasnow, who has a partial UCL tear in part due to altered tactics as of a few weeks ago.
MLB news: Trevor Bauer responds to foreign substance ban by MLB
Bauer didn’t necessarily have an issue with the ban itself — it’s been a long time coming, as he notes. MLB has watched the issue grow in recent years, to the point it’s actively hurting the sport’s popularity. So, why not act before the season?
Perhaps Manfred didn’t have an understanding as to how dramatized this issue actually was. Or, perhaps more likely, he didn’t know how much it would impact his bottom line.
Had they implemented this ban before the season, then pitchers would’ve had time to prepare. Instead, they’re forced to act on the fly, and in some cases (if Glasnow is to be believed) opening themselves up to injury risk.
For onece, Bauer made a reliable point. He’ll hardly be the last player to raise it in the coming weeks.