Bleacher Report · Mar 27, 2022
MLB Outlines Plan for Umpires to Check Pitchers' Hands for Foreign Substances
Major League Baseball is making changes to the rule that allows umpires to check pitchers for foreign substances in 2022.
Per Sports Illustrated's Tom Verducci, the league issued a memo to all 30 teams Friday outlining the plan that allows for umpires to inspect the top and bottom of a pitcher's hand during random between-inning inspections.
The umpires are also still allowed to check the pitcher's hat, belt and glove, as was the case last season.
According to Verducci, MLB's memo is a "tacit admission that pitchers began cheating again late last season as they learned workarounds to the routine checks by umpires."