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St. Louis Cardinals Inadvertently Admit To Cheating (again)

UNIowaHawk

HR Legend
Jul 22, 2011
17,722
13,293
113
Regarding illegal substances to doctor the balls (and chest protectors)

In one incident earlier this season, umpires forced St. Louis Cardinals reliever Giovanny Gallegos to switch caps because of a supposed substance that was observed on it.
Cardinals manager Mike Shildt was so livid in the aftermath that he got ejected from the game. He believed his player was being unfairly singled out for something that’s simply commonplace across the game.
“This is baseball’s dirty little secret,” Shildt said.

 
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Not a Cardinals fan, but the manager isn’t wrong. It’s been pretty well documented.
 
I'd be willing to bet that there is not one single MLB team that doesn't have a pitching staff at least half full of guys using some concoction of substances to increase spin rates.

Hell for years now, pitchers' cap bills have had these smudge marks on them. We've seen guys have this green slimy looking stuff on their forearms - I seem to recall a pitcher in the WS where this was seen on the broadcast (for some reason I think it was a Red Sox game).

This isn't some new revelation. Some pitchers have been doing it a long time - but now it seems plausible given the low batting averages, monstrous strikeout numbers, and how spin rate doctrine seems to have taken over in "teaching pitching"...it's laughable to not believe the majority of pitchers are now doing it.
 
I'd be willing to bet that there is not one single MLB team that doesn't have a pitching staff at least half full of guys using some concoction of substances to increase spin rates.

Hell for years now, pitchers' cap bills have had these smudge marks on them. We've seen guys have this green slimy looking stuff on their forearms - I seem to recall a pitcher in the WS where this was seen on the broadcast (for some reason I think it was a Red Sox game).

This isn't some new revelation. Some pitchers have been doing it a long time - but now it seems plausible given the low batting averages, monstrous strikeout numbers, and how spin rate doctrine seems to have taken over in "teaching pitching"...it's laughable to not believe the majority of pitchers are now doing it.
The stuff on the forearms is actually sunscreen. When they drop the rosin bag on it, it becomes sticky and gives them unbelievable grip. Saw an interview with one player who basically asked how they were going to outlaw sunscreen. Most hitters say they don't mind letting the pitchers have something to give them better grip. It makes hitting safer if they know the ball isn't going to slip out of the hand and go right at their head. They just need to make it uniform instead of turning a blind eye to it.
 
Cardinals have 3 in the top 25 for spin rate for 4-seam and 3 in the top 12 for curve.
Wainwrights' curveball has been legit for 20 years...

The irony remains in the Astros accusation of the Cardinals, as they literally beat the can to the World Series. The Cards were cheated out of the '85 and '87 WS in my slightly biased opinion, backed up by video evidence...
 
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