A new rule in Major League Baseball this season allows umpires to collect baseballs they suspect might have foreign substances on them.
Until Wednesday, there were no reports of any balls being confiscated and sent to MLB for inspection until Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer took the mound that day against the Oakland A's. A's radio announcer noticed a ball taken out of play in the first inning while the A's were at bat. Then on Thursday a report by The Athletic cited major league sources confirming that several balls Bauer threw during the gamewere sticky or had visible markings on them.
Bauer quickly responded on social media. Here is what he said:
Lol always fun reading desperate and misleading clickbait headlines from national gossip bloggers. To translate fake journalist speak for y’all, “It’s unclear whether” = “I can’t be bothered to look into this cuz it doesn’t fit my narrative.” wonder where the articles about.
MLB sent a letter to all 30 teams last month announcing the new policy, which also includes examination of Statcast data such as spin rate to determine the possibility of foreign substances being used.
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