MLB Is Full of Major League Cheaters: Unchecked

Gerrit Cole's awkward answer about foreign substances confirmed what we already knew, baseball full of cheaters.

I had my fun with the Houston Astros just like everyone else, but they are obviously not alone. Baseball clearly is and has always been full of cheaters. Gerrit Cole’s spin rate on his answer, when asked whether he used spider tack is more proof of that.

Gerrit Cole on if he ever used Spider Tack while pitching:

"I don't quite know how to answer that, to be honest...If MLB wants to legislate some more stuff, that's a conversation that we can have" pic.twitter.com/2fR1AUeOQX

— Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) June 8, 2021

He even said sticky practices have been handed down from one generation to the next. Which I guess shouldn’t be surprising in a game where we’ve seen sign stealing, corked bats and steroids. So, my question is...shouldn’t people be more upset about the rampant use of foreign substances by pitchers? You’re not even allowed to use those in pro wrestling.

Evidence was presented at the MLB owners meetings to suggest that the use of illegal foreign substances by pitchers trying to enhance spin rates and get an edge is “very prevalent” in the game. So the crackdown will now commence in earnest.

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) June 3, 2021

No one seems to be keeping the same energy around this, that they have for keeping Barry Bonds out of the Hall of Fame. I understand one could argue it’s not the same, however, I’m not sure the numbers back that up.

Josh Donaldson on pitchers using foreign substances:

“What these guys are doing now is performance enhancing.” pic.twitter.com/jkE3zzTjK4

— Bally Sports North (@BallySportsNOR) June 8, 2021

At least with steroids, which pitchers used too, by the way, it led to some excitement. Right now, MLB is in the midst of the most historically inept-hitting season in history. And with spin on balls increasing at a rapid rate, bats are being missed completely, which has almost certainly contributed to nearly all the action being taken out of the sport.

What was an elite spin rate in 2018 is now average. The percentage of high-spin fastballs has increased threefold since ’15.

For hitters, all this suddenly acquired extra movement is catastrophic. More on MLB's sticky situation: https://t.co/0YMiJYVGjL pic.twitter.com/OfXtUCeLE8

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) June 4, 2021

I get that pitchers are treated like delicate geniuses...why else is it acceptable for them to hurl a baseball at a hitter who admires a home run? But one would think this scandal would be met with the same animosity reserved for the Astros.

Major League Baseball would like nothing more than for the foreign substance conversation turn into a game in which fans accuse rival players of cheating, villains are identified and pilloried, and the league's knowing institutionalization of ball-doctoring is largely ignored.

— Craig Calcaterra (@craigcalcaterra) June 7, 2021

I suppose in this case we can’t point to one World Series winning team, though the defending champion Dodgers, coincidentally or not, have seen the largest spin rate increase.

This should’ve been the moment when MLB realized the “sticky stuff” was an issue, four years ago pic.twitter.com/n1yjjF32N9

— Very Baseball Moments (@verymlb) June 4, 2021

Overall, I can be left with only one takeaway...while there may be no crying in baseball, there sure as hell is a lot of cheating.