MLB will issue 10-game suspensions for pitchers found with foreign substances; pitchers face mandatory checks

Major League Baseball announced Tuesday that every pitcher caught using or possessing foreign substances will be given an automatic 10-game suspension beginning Monday, June 21, and team employees can also be suspended or fined for substances found in their clubhouse or dugout. 

Starting pitchers will be checked more than once per game for foreign substances while relievers will be checked at least once. 

“After an extensive process of repeated warnings without effect, gathering information from current and former players and others across the sport, two months of comprehensive data collection, listening to our fans and thoughtful deliberation,’’ Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a release, “I have determined that new enforcement of foreign substances is needed to level the playing field. 

"I understand there’s a history of foreign substances being used on the ball, but what we are seeing today is objectively far different, with much tackier substances being used more frequently than ever before. It has become clear that the use of foreign substance has generally morphed from trying to get a better grip on the ball into something else – an unfair competitive advantage that is creating a lack of action and an uneven playing field.’’ 

Source: Read Full Article