Gerrit Cole sat there, frozen, trying to think of a way to answer the question.
He had been just asked, point blank, if he had ever used Spider Tack, one of the most popular sticky substances pitchers are using to increase spin rate.
The six seconds of silence Cole took thinking of what to say said far more than his non-answer ever could:
here's gerrit cole's response when asked point blank if he has ever used spider tack, one of the sticky substances baseball is looking to crack down on pic.twitter.com/rKFOksIDoW
— Matthew Roberson (@mroberson22) June 8, 2021
If that isn’t enough, consider this: His fastball spin rate in his first start after four minor-league players were suspended for using sticky stuff was the lowest it had been since he was with the Pirates.
With the exception of his old collegiate rotation partner, Trevor Bauer, who literally sells t-shirts that say “Legalize Pine Tar,” Cole is the face of this latest MLB scandal. There’s hard evidence of his guilt in the data alone.
That doesn’t mean Cole will be the biggest guy who gets popped if and when Major League Baseball starts to dole out suspensions -- though to be fair, there aren’t many pitchers bigger than he is right now. But if he does get caught, the label will stick to him, the same way steroid users are given that scarlet letter to wear. I won’t compare steroids to baseball doctoring because it is apples and oranges, but you can bet if Cole or Bauer or some other high-echelon pitcher gets caught, it’ll tarnish their standing within the league.
Which is why Cole was so delicate with his words Tuesday. He has to know these questions are coming, and he didn’t do himself any favors giving a wish sandwich of an answer. A simple “no comment” would have done much, much better. Because at least then it would have taken less time than six seconds of silence.
YOUR TURN: What did you think of Cole’s answer, and do you think he is using sticky stuff?