The ball. Every year it’s something with this damn ball.
The current season is only three weeks old and already the ball is the subject of two debates — if it is too dead and if its surface is too inconsistent, creating frustration for pitchers with their handles, especially in cold weather.
Almost four years ago, Major League Baseball bought 25 percent of Rawlings, the company that makes the ball. You would think that by now, even with the interruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the problems would be ironed out. You would think the league would use a ball with a sticky surface ready to use similar to the pre-tack versions used in Japan and Korea. But no, we’re not there yet.
At this point, it might behoove the league to create a department focusing exclusively on the ball, overseen by a lord of the seams. Clearly, the league needs to communicate better with players – stop me if you’ve heard this before – and provide full transparency on all ball-related matters.
I mean, I can’t imagine the commissioner’s agent likes to see quotes like the ones that came out of the Mets’ clubhouse Tuesday evening.
‘MLB has a really big problem with baseballs,’ says Mets pitcher Chris Bassitt told reporters. ” They are bad. Everybody knows it. Every pitcher in the league knows that. They are bad. They don’t care. MLB doesn’t care. They don’t care. We told them about our problems with them. They don’t care. »
Added Mets catcher James McCann: “I think it’s 2022. There’s enough technology to understand baseball. We want to talk about juicy balls, dead balls, smooth balls, sticky balls. It’s 2022. We should have an answer.
Well done! Except for one thing. Not all pitchers agree that the ball is a problem. Some believe this season’s introduction of an official rosin bag helps alleviate adhesion issues caused by the league’s crackdown on illegal stickies launched last June. The 8-ounce bags of Honduran pine rosin manufactured by Pelican are subject to strict chain-of-custody protocols and are the responsibility of a specific clubhouse staff member at each major league park.
“I like it. There is a noticeable sticky difference. Phillies right-hander Kyle Gibson said AthleticismIt’s Matt Gelb. “I’m obviously the outlier it seems. A few guys, I don’t think they like it. They feel like they need to have more moisture with something. But I’m surprised every time. I had (pitching coach) Caleb (Cotham) sit there and say, ‘Hey, do the umpire’s hand check now.’ Are they going to let me get away with this? You know?”
Two other veteran pitchers from teams in northern climates, speaking on condition of anonymity, also had no problem with the uniform rosin bag, with one calling it a “fair compromise.” The Mets are particularly sensitive at the moment, however. Their hitters reached a major league high 19 times in just 20 games.
Phillies’ Kyle Gibson (Bill Streicher/USA Today Sports)
But is the problem the ball, the throwing of the Mets’ opponents, or just a small-time aberration? No other club has been hit more than 13 times. The league average is eight. And in Tuesday’s game, the hit-per-pitch rate over a comparable number of plate appearances was the lowest since 2018, according to MLB.
| Season | RAP% |
|---|---|
|
2022 |
1.14 |
|
2021 |
1.37 |
|
2022 |
1.32 |
|
2019 |
1.16 |
|
2018 |
1.1 |
The league, during collective negotiations with the players’ union, made several proposals regarding an automatic ejection for hitting a batter in the head or neck with a fastball, regardless of intent, sources said. The union rejected the idea, which is similar to that used by the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO). It is unlikely that players will ever accept strict liability for pitches that might hit batters accidentally, without intention.
As part of those conversations, the league also proposed discussion of additional discipline for cumulative hitters. More recently, league officials informally proposed to some players the idea of a hit-by-pitch scoring system for pitchers, in addition to an automatic ejection for hitting a batter above the shoulder , sources said. The way the system would work, each hit per pitch would count for a certain number of points against the pitcher depending on the type of pitch and location. A slider off a batter’s foot can be worth one point, a fastball to the ribs can be worth three. Once the pitcher crossed a set threshold, he was suspended.
The idea seems impractical on many levels, the type of response that often prompts players to complain that the league office is out of touch. Players recognize that hitting batters is part of the game. Batters rarely complain about being hit below the waist. Imagine how ridiculous the league would look if Max Scherzer was ejected in the seventh inning of a critical game in September because he footed a batter and reached his points threshold.
Do not worry; the points system doesn’t seem to have any traction. And really, that misses the point. The problem, as the RAP rates suggest, is not with hit batsmen. The problem, in the opinion of some pitchers, is the ball. As Bassitt said: “(Bullets) are all different. The first inning they’re okay, the third inning they’re bad, the fourth inning they’re fine, the fifth inning they’re bad. And we have different climates. Everything is different. There is no middle ground with bullets. Nothing is the same from one release to the next.
Some pitchers say the inconsistency extends to umpires and the different standards they apply to pitchers trying to produce moisture on their hands so they can grip the ball in cold weather – licking their fingers, for example. example. Which brings us back to the tricky stuff and the gray area that exists between the league’s crackdown on illegal substances and pitchers’ desire to control the ball in their hand.
Almost everyone involved in the sport believes that some form of repression was justified. But like Mets manager Buck Showalter told reporters On Wednesday, “the question is whether we as an industry have gone too far in the other direction.” If the league’s main concern is the higher spin rate produced by certain substances, one pitcher asks, why not establish baselines for all pitchers, allow them to use whatever concoctions they choose, then nail anyone whose rotation jumps at an abnormally high rate?
Besides, that would be another conversation that misses the point. The pre-glued ball would be the obvious, all-encompassing solution, providing pitchers with a consistent, even grip and eliminating the need for sticky substances once and for all. At least that would be the idea.
The league experienced with such a ball in select Triple-A games during the final days of the 2021 minor league season and is using it in the Double-A Texas League this season. The major leagues haven’t responded well to a version of a grip-enhanced ball that the league tested during spring training camps in 2019. But so far, a source said, the ball Texas League was well received.
MLB can’t get into a certain shape soon enough. We’re all tired of talking about balloons, aren’t we?
(Top photo by Chris Bassitt: Mary DeCicco / MLB Photos via Getty Images)
