One of the major storylines of the 2021 season for Major League Baseball has been the talk of sticky substances being applied to baseballs by pitchers in search of increased spin. Talk of the league acting has ratcheted up in recent weeks and the league officially responded Tuesday announcing that it had provided guidance to all 30 clubs and to the umpires.
The goal is to provide “a uniform standard for the consistent application of the rules, including regular checks of all pitchers regardless of whether an opposing club’s manager makes a request.”
Under the guidelines, any pitcher that is found to be in violation of the rule will be ejected from the game and will receive an automatic suspension.