Jon Lester used Vaseline on his glove? Cardinals minor league pitcher Tyler Melling thinks so
UPDATE (12:15 p.m.): An MLB official has addressed the Lester accusations.
UPDATE (1:02 p.m.): Cardinals GM John Mozeliak shares his thought’s on Lester’s glove.
Boston Red Sox pitcher Jon Lester turned in a phenomenal outing against the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 1 of the World Series on Wednesday night, but some are accusing him of cheating. Tyler Melling, a pitcher who plays ball in the Cards’ minor league system, posted a photo during the game that has caused some speculation.
Jon Lester using a little Vaseline inside the glove tonight? pic.twitter.com/IyQn2iqg5f
— Tyler Melling (@TylerMelling) October 24, 2013
Melling later deleted his tweet, which I assume was done per the request of the organization.
The only thing we can really see is that there is a discoloration between the thumb and webbing of the glove. It’s hard to tell if there’s some sort of substance there or if the leather is simply wearing out at that particular spot. Another Twitter user pointed out that Lester appeared to touch that part of his glove before gripping the ball in the 7th inning.
Naturally, Twitter has already begun buzzing about Lester cheating and putting Vaseline or pine tar on the baseball during his impressive 7 2/3 innings. Fellow Red Sox pitcher Clay Buchholz was accused of using some sort of substance to doctor the baseball earlier this season, so this is not uncharted territory for Boston. It will be interesting to see if we are given an explanation from Lester or the team on Thursday.
More from the World Series:
GIF: Yadier Molina, Adam Wainwright let popup drop between them
Video: Carlos Beltran robs grand slam, leaves with rib injury
GIF: Umpires correctly overturn horrendous call at second base
H/T Hall of Very Good
Photo via Twitter user @sashmeister
