Cole, from Yankees, does not know how to answer for the use of banned substances to pitch
Minneapolis (USA), Jun 8 (EFE) .- The star pitcher of the New York Yankees, Gerrit Cole, had trouble answering the question of whether he has ever used a particular sticky paste called Spider Tack while he was at the mound.
The reporters’ questions originate in the middle of a Major League Baseball offensive against pitching-friendly foreign substances.
Cole responded by saying “No (long pause) … I don’t know … I don’t really know how to answer that, to be honest.”
He paused and continued: “There are customs and practices that have been passed down from older players to younger players, from the latest generation of players to this generation of players, and I think there are some things that are certainly off limits.”
He added that “This is important to a lot of people who love the game, including the players in this room, including the fans, including the teams, so if Major League Baseball wants to legislate more stuff, that’s a conversation we can have. Because, Ultimately, we should all be pulling in the same direction on this. “
Over the weekend it emerged that the Majors advanced a plan in which all pitchers in the Major Leagues will be repeatedly and randomly screened by umpires for foreign substances, and each starting pitcher is likely to be screened at least twice per start. .
One source estimated that there will be eight to 10 random foreign substance checks per game.
With officials aware that team checks slow down a sport in which the pace of play is already believed to be too slow, pitchers can be controlled when they leave the field at the end of an outing.
As part of last week’s extensive comments on the presence of sticky stuff for pitchers, Twins third baseman Josh Donaldson casually wondered aloud if Cole, whose pitches in his last start weren’t spinning as much, from I was suddenly trying to hide, if I use ball grip aids, usually a mixture of rosin and sunscreen.
Cole said the drop in its turning speed was due to mechanical failures.
“I attribute it to not being as good or as sharp as I want to be. It’s as simple as that,” Cole said.
According to MLB Statcast data on the Baseball Savant website, Cole had a decrease of 125 rotations per minute on his four-seam fastball last week when he allowed five runs in five innings in a loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.
Cole, who falls short of the middle of the second season of a nine-year, $ 324 million contract, is third in the majors with 104 strikeouts.
The three-time All-Star has a 2.26 ERA in 75 2/3 innings and 12 starts this season.
Cole is scheduled to pitch Wednesday against Donaldson and the Twins.
Four minor league pitchers have been suspended this season by Major League Baseball after being caught using foreign banned substances.
The use of homemade sticky substances is suspected to have exploded in recent seasons as a grip aid to increase turning speed on the straights and make those pitches harder to hit.
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