- Yankees ace
Gerrit Cole offered a non-answer when asked if he has used sticky substances while pitching. - The question came after an opposing player suggested Cole used such substances to improve his grip.
- The
MLB has recently begun a crackdown on pitchers using materials like Spider Tack.
The substance can improve pitchers' grip on the ball. Minnesota Twins third baseman Josh Donaldson recently alleged that Cole has used a sticky substance. MLB prohibits players from altering the ball in any fashion.
Cole, speaking to reporters for the first time since Donaldson's comments, was asked directly whether or not he has used Spider Tack. Cole hemmed and hawed, taking several long pauses.
"Umm... I don't- " Cole began before hesitating. "I don't know... I don't know if... I don't quite know how to answer that, to be honest."
Cole then said that certain "practices" have been passed down between generations of MLB players, but added that he has tried to stay "firm" on not doing anything he would consider "out of bounds."
"There are customs and practices that have been passed down from older players to younger players from the last generation of players to this generation of players," Cole said. "I think there are some things that are certainly out of bounds in that regard, and I've stood pretty firm in terms of that, in terms of the communication between our peers and what not.
"And again, like I mentioned earlier, this is pretty important to a lot of people that love the game. This is - including the players in this room, including the fans, including teams. And so, if MLB wants to legislate some more stuff, that's a conversation we can have, because ultimately, we should all be pulling in the same direction on this stuff."
A video of Cole's answer is below:
-Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) June 8, 2021
Spider Tack was invented to help weight-lifters grip Atlas Stones in competition, according to The Athletic's Stephen J Nesbitt. For pitchers, it can improve grip on balls, thus bolstering their spin and command.
Other sticky materials used in MLB include include pine tar or gum spit, though the league does not officially allow any such substances. That rule has not always been strictly enforced, however.
An MLB pitcher who asked to remain anonymous told Nesbitt that Spider Tack is the most nefarious of the sticky substances, though, and should be banned from the game. MLB has made an effort to crack down on the use of sticky substances, including having umpires check pitchers' globes for substances if opposing managers request.
In the minor leagues, four pitchers were recently suspended for using grip enhancers. After the suspensions were handed down, advanced stats indicated that Cole's spin rate dropped during his latest game.
"Is it coincidence that Gerrit Cole's spin rate numbers went down (Thursday) after four minor-leaguers got suspended for 10 games?" Donaldson told reporters, according to The Athletic. "Is that possible? I don't know. Maybe."
This wasn't the first time Cole has been involved in a controversy about pitchers' use of sticky substances. In 2018, then-Cincinnati Reds pitcher Trevor Bauer implied on Twitter that when Cole was with the Astros, the team's players might have been illegally doctoring balls to improve their spin rate. Bauer later claimed, however, he was not accusing Astros pitchers of anything, though he said baseball had a "problem" with sticky substances.
Cole's name came up in a recent lawsuit as well. Former Los Angeles Angels clubhouse attendant Bubba Harkins was fired last year for supplying pitchers with ball-doctoring substances. Harkins then sued the team and MLB, alleging his termination wasn't fair. As part of the proceedings, Harkins submitted a 2019 text message from Cole as evidence, according to ESPN's Alden Gonzalez.
The text from Cole read: "Hey Bubba, it's Gerrit Cole. I was wondering if you could help me out with this sticky situation [winky face emoji]. We don't see you until May, but we have some road games in April that are in cold weather places. The stuff I had last year seizes up when it gets cold."