After the league issued a memo back in March stating they’d be tougher on pitchers using “foreign substances” on the baseball, the early months of the season saw no change in approach from the league. With hitting down across the league, and a slew of evidence implicating pitchers brought to last week’s owners meetings, MLB is poised to start laying down the hammer. For the Rockies, the question then becomes: will the stricter rule enforcement hurt pitchers or help hitters more?
It’s no secret that pitchers have long looked to get a better grip on the baseball in the hopes of increasing spin rate and in turn, pitch deception.