MILWAUKEE – The Cincinnati Reds have been branded with the moniker, “Spincinnati,” for their collection of high spin rate pitchers.
Lucas Sims and Tejay Antone have some of the highest spin rates in all of baseball on their pitches. Sonny Gray, Heath Hembree and Tyler Mahle are probably in the next tier.
Now, all that spin will be under a microscope. Major League Baseball announced Tuesday that it will crack down on the use of foreign substances and enforcement will begin Monday. Umpires are instructed to check all pitchers at least once every game.
Any pitcher who possesses or applies a foreign substance will be ejected and receive an automatic 10-game suspension. Teams will not be allowed to replace a suspended pitcher on their active roster.
“I have determined that new enforcement of foreign substances is needed to level the playing field,” MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. “I understand there’s a history of foreign substances being used on the ball, but what we are seeing today is objectively far different, with much tackier substances being used more frequently than ever before.”
MLB sent a memo to teams in March that the league would collect baseballs and study Statcast data on spin rates this season.
It’s not a new problem. Trevor Bauer, interviewed by HBO Real Sports in February 2020, estimated that 70% of pitchers were using foreign substances and that it provided a greater advantage than steroids because it affected every pitch of a game.
Bauer notably had much higher spin rates when he won the Cy Young Award last year.
“For eight years I’ve been trying to figure out how to increase the spin on my fastball because I’d identified it way back then as such a massive advantage,” Bauer wrote in a story for Player’s Tribune in Feb. 2020. “I knew that if I could learn to increase it through training and technique, it would be huge. But eight years later, I haven’t found any other way except using foreign substances.”
The only substance permitted for pitchers to assist their grip will be the rosin bag behind the mound. They will not be allowed to combine rosin with another substance like sunscreen. Umpires will review rosin bags before games.
There’s always been a theory that pitchers should be allowed to use some foreign substances, like sunscreen, to help their grip and avoid hitting batters. The league disputed that because the hit-by-pitch ratio is at its highest point in the last 100 years.
“It has become clear that the use of foreign substance has generally morphed from trying to get a better grip on the ball into something else – an unfair competitive advantage that is creating a lack of action and an uneven playing field,” Manfred said. “This is not about any individual player or club, or placing blame. It is about a collective shift that has changed the game and needs to be addressed.”
There have been some noticeable drops in spin rates throughout the sport in recent weeks with rumors about MLB’s crackdown.
It could drop even further because the 10-game suspension is a stiff penalty. Teams can't afford to lose multiple pitchers.
"Somewhere along the line, pitchers pitching with foreign substances, it kind of became an accepted part of the game," Reds manager David Bell said. "I don’t know exactly when that happened. For me, I think this is a step in the right direction to enforce the rules that are in the rule book.
"I think in the end, it’ll be much better for the game just because it’ll be clear and there are no unwritten rules that people aren’t exactly sure what they are."
WINKER SITS: Jesse Winker was out of the lineup Tuesday against Milwaukee Brewers lefty Brett Anderson.
Bell said it was a scheduled off day as he looks to give a breather to the club’s regular starters before the All-Star break.
Aristides Aquino received the start in left field and Scott Heineman was in center.
NEW PARTNERSHIP: WynnBet, the online sports betting brand of Wynn Resorts, announced a corporate partnership with the Reds Tuesday.
WynnBet will gain access to official Reds marks and logos for its online product, according to the statement it released, and it will offer the chance to receive Reds game tickets and memorabilia during select promotions.
Along with the Reds, WynnBet is the official partner of NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies and Detroit Pistons, and an authorized gaming operator of NASCAR.
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