Interesting thing is seeing spin rates decrease recently in some good pitchers. This past week had several note-able pitchers see spin rates crash after this stuff started coming to light. I’m convinced every pitcher is doing it to some extent, but MLB has known it for decades...but now it’s getting carried away with sophistication.
Of course, just like steroids, everyone is doing it before it gets cracked down on. This is their livelihood, millions of dollars are at stake, they’ll take every competitive advantage. And even if they don’t want to, they’ll do it to keep pace with everyone else.
“All eyes will be on Gerrit Cole when he takes the mound Wednesday in Minnesota, after his spin rates dropped significantly in his less-than-dominant start last Thursday against the Rays.
Cole, who blossomed into a superstar upon being traded to the Houston Astros in 2018, has come under some suspicion before. Trevor Bauer, whose own spin rates dropped significantly in a losing start on Sunday, made unspecified accusations a couple of years ago about what Cole, his old UCLA teammate, was doing in Houston.
And then in January, a former clubhouse manager for the Los Angeles Angels named Brian Harkins, who was suing his old team over being fired after MLB had informed the Angels he’d been providing pitchers with a sticky mix of rosin and pine tar, revealed a 2019 text from Cole that indicated the star pitcher was essentially asking for a shipment of the stuff.”