MLB to implement 10-game suspensions for pitchers using foreign substances

WASHINGTON -- Expect spin rates to start dropping across the league.

Per a memo from the league Tuesday, Major League Baseball announced that any pitcher who is found to be adding foreign substances or doctoring baseballs will be suspended 10 games with pay. Repeat offenders will be subject to progressive discipline, and clubs and club personnel will also be subject to discipline if they fail to comply with the league’s rules.

These punishments will go into effect starting June 21.

"It's something that we knew was coming," Derek Shelton said on the league's announcement. "All along they had been very transparent that we were going to get guidelines."

Umpires will be instructed to check each pitcher, including multiple times for starters, for foreign substances. Position players can also be ejected and suspended if an umpire determines they applied a substance to the ball for the benefit of the pitcher.

Pitchers will still be allowed to use rosin, but are prohibited from combining it with another substance “to create additional tackiness.” One of the examples the league gave is sunscreen, and pitchers have been advised not to apply sunscreen during night games or when playing in stadiums with closed roofs.

After being a dirty little secret across the sport for years, the debate over pitchers using sticky stuff has escalated greatly this year. That’s partially because it has become the new year of the pitcher, with the league recording a record-high amount of strikeouts (8.95 per team per game) and holding batters to a .238 batting average, just one point higher than the infamous 1968 year of the pitcher.

Foreign substances, like spider tact, have been found to greatly increase fastball spin rate, giving pitchers extra movement on their fastest pitch. It’s been discovered that the only way to increase four-seam spin rates are by either increasing velocity or by doctoring the baseball. 

There has been some controversy with the league making this adjustment midseason. Rays pitcher Tyler Glasnow has been the most vocal about it, saying that he stopped using sunscreen a couple starts ago and felt sore afterwards due to difficulty with grip. On Tuesday, it was announced that he had a partial UCL tear and a flexor strain.

"I truly believe 100% that's why I got hurt," Glasnow said. "[MLB] can't just tell us to use nothing. It's crazy."

As for Shelton's concerns, he is focused on making sure that if there is a rule, it's enforced.

"As long as we have consistency and enforcement throughout the same way, then I'm fine with it," Shelton said.

The full release from Major League Baseball can be read here.