Major League Baseball is once again doubling down on enforcement of one rule for the 2023 season.
MLB is informing clubs that, for the third straight season, use of foreign substances by pitchers, often referred to as “sticky stuff,” will be a focus for umpires this season. That means umpires have been told to put more focus on what pitchers are doing and to adjust enforcement techniques, according to Jayson Stark of The Athletic.
Umpires are expected to do this in several ways. Inspections of pitchers are likely to become more thorough, and the cap, glove, and belt checks that marked the initial enforcement process could return after largely disappearing in 2022. Inspections are also likely to be more random and at the umpire’s discretion, including in the middle of an inning if the pitcher is engaging in behavior that seems suspicious.
The league believes that pitchers began to use stickier substances during innings when they knew they would not be checked for substances. Some data actually backs this up, with variation in inning-by-inning spin rates showing up in tracking.
Enforcement largely became a simple routine in 2022, and no pitchers were ejected for foreign substance use. With spin rates rising again, the league suspects that pitchers are simply finding new ways to avoid detection. The issue still comes up in games sometimes, and there are plenty of suspicions that still exist about certain pitchers. Total enforcement may prove impossible, but the league is still going to try.
