Since the league began cracking down on foreign substance-using pitchers, there have been full weeks of MLB games.The following are some of the highlights. Washington Nationals ace Max Scherzer, a future Hall of Famer, was not happy about being checked for sticky stuff by umpires on Tuesday. This was specifically because Joe Girardi, the Philadelphia Phillies manager, requested it.Sergio Romo, Oakland A's relief pitcher, displayed his emotions about umpire inspections a few hours later by taking off his belt and pulling his pants down on the field.Hector Santiago, a Seattle Mariners left-hander, was recently the first pitcher to be ejected after umpires examined his glove. Santiago stated after the game, "It's just sweat & rosin."These incidents were the subject of headlines. We wanted to know more about how Major League Baseball handled this process, how it affected players' numbers, and what's next. So we asked five ESPN writers, Alden Gonzalez and Jesse Rogers, to answer five questions about a historic week in the history of the sport.What is the most memorable thing about the first week of MLB’s crackdown on foreign-substances?Doolittle: It has been shocking to see how many pitchers have experienced a drop in their spin rate. It is difficult to track this down and separate it from weather-influenced trends. However, we do know that eliminating the sticky stuff is a powerful tool for lowering the aggregate spinning rate.Gonzalez: Someone like Garrett Richards who seems to have lost his way since the MLB started cracking down on foreign drugs. He said that he needs to find a new way to pitch, as he cannot get the right grip on the baseball to spin it. This was two starts ago. Richards is a great example of the effects of making a drastic change, or more precisely, being more aggressive in applying a rule that was largely ignored, in the middle of a season.Rogers: It is obvious that only one player was ejected, most likely because of rosin, but Girardi's challenge to Scherzer was also interesting. Although it didn't result in many other challenges, you can still see the scenario where each manager attempts to outdo his opponent. Talk about slowing down the game. This rule needs to be changed now that umpires randomly check pitchers.Schoenfield: It was the right thing to have, even though it caused disruption for pitchers during the middle of the season. The steroids era saw baseball -- and I mean "baseball", all of it, from the commissioner to owners to the front office to the players -- act too slowly. In the sign-stealing era, baseball acted too slowly and wasn't tough enough. Baseball was at risk of acting again too slowly. It had to act. It was cheating. In April, the league average batting average was 1.232. It has risen to.244 by June.What is your lasting memory from the first week of MLB enforcement?Doolittle: The Scherzer game. Scherzer is entertaining no matter what, regardless of whether he's dominating the mound or exuding his wry sense humor after a game. Although he wasn't trying entertain when Girardi's antics caused his lid to flip, it was yet another example of when you can't look away from him. It's still a mystery to me why Girardi would want to poke that bear.Gonzalez: Santiago, a Mariners spot starter in his 10th major league year, walks back to the dugout with his glove missing. His glove was wrapped and sent to MLB's laboratory to be inspected. Afterward, the inspector stated that the glove contained nothing illegal. To be clear, even if the glove contained only sweat and rosin it is prohibited from having rosin on it, as per Rule 6.02(d). Santiago was not ejected for bringing the rosin bag to his glove. He was ejected instead because umpires found that he had used foreign substances to make additional sticks. Although his truth will not be accepted, it will touch on the grey area Trevor Bauer highlighted from the beginning -- that both rosin or sweat can create a stick which could fool umpires into thinking it was made of foreign substances.Rogers: Romo almost getting undressed in the field. What could be better?Schoenfield: Scherzer is standing on top of the dugout, with his arms raised and his glove in his other hand. It reminded of the famous Bud Selig image from The All-Star Game, which ended in a tie. It was a question of what kind of mess the sport has gotten into once again.What stat stands out for you most since MLB announced increased enforcement?Doolittle This far back, I assumed that pitchers would have begun to reduce their goop consumption when news began to spread about MLB's plans to lower the hammer. 70% of those 134 pitchers saw an increase in spin rate, with many seeing decreases of more than 100 rpm. This tells us that MLB was actually attacking the real thing, not just tilting at windmills.Gonzalez: Let me get straight to the purpose. The leaguewide slash has increased from.237/.312/.396 to Monday morning on June 6, when momentum began to build. As the weather warms, offense tends to pick up -- in fact, we saw a similar increase in 2019 -- but that is what this is all all about and what will ultimately determine whether it was a success. While you can critique the league's timing, it is also possible to be confident that no sticky substances are being used at this time. It is important to identify the problem and it will be evident how this affects offense.Rogers: I am going to cheat a bit and go back further than one week. Gerrit Cole has a 4.65 ERA since the announcement of the crackdown in June. Honorable mention: Yu Darvish had his second-lowest spin rate for two years on Sunday.Schoenfield: The strikeout rate dropped to 23.4% in June from 24.2% in April, May and 25.2% in May using Brad's May 31 cutoff. Although not a significant change, it is a sign that we may see a decrease in excessive strikeouts. The swing-and miss rate for curveballs and sliders dropped from 35.0% down to 34.5% (and was actually 34.7% over the past week), yet another small change. The swing-and miss rate for four-seam fastballs dropped from 23.3% in May and April to 23.1% this week. Pitchers might be wise to stop griping. The fallout from this situation may actually be less than they realize. Keep watching.Which grade would you assign to MLB for handling the crackdown thus far?Doolittle: They get a B from me, but only for the chaos that characterized the first few days. Apart from Santiago being busted on Sunday, there hasn't been much disruption. It's now a matter to monitor which pitchers adapt and which ones have trouble adapting.The State of Baseball Are baseball games too long? How can the new generation of baseball stars be maximized? We explore the issues that will impact the game beyond this season. The State of BaseballGonzalez: They get a C. This is not their fight and they are just trying to do the best they can in difficult circumstances. Yes, this was a problem that the sport had to address. It's difficult to imagine how MLB could have dealt with this more smoothly. It could have avoided such drastic changes in the middle of a season. It could have found a way not to lump pitchers who use sunscreen and pinetar for grip with those who use that -- and other more severe substances -- for spin rate purposes. It could have kept its word by offering a stickier, better alternative to everyone who wanted to quit.Rogers: They would get an A. This grade is reserved for umpires who do a good job. They were cool with all pitchers and did quick inspections that didn't slow down games. It was amazing to see two umpires inspect a closer before he enters the game, while the other two were checking on the departing pitcher.Schoenfield: I am also going with an A. I have little sympathy for the intransigence of the players in dealing with or admitting that they went too far, such as with steroids. The disruption to the games was minimal. It was all good until the secret team of chemists discovered a clear, undetectable sticky substance.What will happen next to this?Doolittle: To keep pitchers on the right track, I believe there should be a standard procedure. Talks about a universal gripping material will likely continue as they should. There will likely be more discussion about switching to a harder ball like the one used in Japan. You have to let this initiative play out. Some pitchers have trouble gripping on humid days. Some will be unhappy when it gets cold, but that won't happen soon. Let's look at the evidence and see what the numbers show. Baseball did not do this because it felt there was a moral problem in applying stuff to the baseball that needed to be eliminated in the name good sportsmanship. It did so because the balance of the game was too out of control. Spider Tack, if the game was balanced, would still be an insignificant player for most baseball fans. Before jumping into the next change, we need to look at how the numbers react.Gonzalez: Brad made a great point that I believe will be very important in the future. It was something we saw last week as Scherzer went to his hair to find moisture. Over the years, I have heard many pitchers complain about how difficult it is for them to grasp a major league baseball. It's so difficult that they use the bullpen balls to warm up, which ultimately puts them at a disadvantage when they check in for games. MLB hopes to create a more pliable baseball or a uniform material with which to rub the baseballs, so they don't become as chalky and dry. It needs to offer a better alternative for colder weather.Rogers: As the headlines recede, I believe you will see men try to use again. Pitchers are beginning to understand where umpires are looking at them so that they can adjust the places they keep the sticky stuff. Anybody who feels that he is struggling, and believes it might be due to the crackdown, may try to get back to his form using a better way to cheat.Schoenfield: All the above. Since the Baltimore Orioles scandal of 1890s, when players would run the bases and cut in front of second to go from first to third, there has been cheating. All of this makes sense. If batters suddenly hit.270 and teams score six runs each game, then we can adjust to helping the pitchers. My gut tells me that this is the right decision, even though the impact may be less than anyone expected.
