Back in 2021, MLB made the decision to double down on foreign substances and prevent pitchers from using them.
This was met with frustration on behalf of several pitchers.
Tampa Bay Rays starter Tyler Glasnow was especially vocal about the crackdown, even citing the new rules against foreign substances as one of the reasons he got hurt in the first place.
This all came after former Los Angeles Angels employee Bubba Hawkins revealed that several pitchers, including Max Scherzer, Gerrit Cole, Adam Wainwright, and others, had experimented with a substance called “spider tack.”
MLB will be doubling its efforts this season with their crackdown on foreign substances.
Big news from Jayson: MLB’s battle against the sticky stuff is back on. https://t.co/sRmuMfs7Tu
—Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) February 23, 2023
After Hawkins revealed that several pitchers had been using spider tack, MLB chose to crack down on foreign substances.
This meant that before every appearance and at the end of each inning, pitchers would be checked by umpires to see if any substances were present.
If an umpire found that a substance was present, the pitcher would immediately be ejected and suspended 10 games.
To make matters worse, teams with pitchers who had been suspended were not allowed to replace them on their rosters, meaning that they would be one player short for at least 10 games.
It appears that this year, MLB will be strictly enforcing those rules and will be constantly checking to see if pitchers are using foreign substances.
This will obviously be met with mixed reactions from fans.
Some will be in favor of the crackdown, while others will see it as pointless.
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