A Minnesota Twins pitcher is blaming Major League Baseball for causing an arm injury that will sideline him for the next month.
Bailey Ober alleged that the baseballs used during his May 24 start against the Boston Red Sox were not properly rubbed up, which led to his mild right flexor strain. Ober has filed a complaint with the MLB Players Association, while Twins manager Derek Shelton has filed one on his behalf with the league itself.
MLB requires its baseballs to be rubbed up with mud before games, but Ober is convinced that did not happen ahead of that particular start.
“I haven’t dealt with poorly rubbed up baseballs to that extent ever,” Ober said, via Bobby Nightengale of the Minnesota Star Tribune. “The only way to be able to throw slick baseballs is to grip them harder, so you can execute your pitches. If not, you’re not going to know where the ball is going, especially with breaking pitches.”
Ober pitched in cold, rainy conditions, but said other pitchers agreed with him that there was something wrong with the baseballs. Red Sox pitcher Sonny Gray, who opposed Ober on the day, said the conditions were “brutal.”
“Everyone that came in after me, the relievers, they all said the same thing,” Ober said. “When I was in the clubhouse, they all came in and said, ‘Man, those balls sucked.’ I talked to Sonny and Danny Coulombe right after the game, who both pitched for the Red Sox, and they both said the same thing.”
MLB privately investigated and found nothing wrong with the baseballs used in the game, an assertion Ober clearly does not believe is correct.
Ober made another start after that one, but was placed on the IL afterward and is expected to miss about a month. He allowed four runs on seven hits in five innings in the outing against Boston and gave up seven earned runs on 12 hits in 4.2 innings in the ensuing start against Pittsburgh.
In the past, the league has had to defend itself from allegations that its baseballs are juiced to provide more offense. In this instance, Ober is alleging that the baseballs were not treated at all, making them tougher to grip and harder to throw.
