In one Double-A clubhouse this week, a group of pitchers was talking about the video of Gerrit Cole stumbling over a conspicuous non-denial of using a sticky substance called Spider Tack to impart an unnatural level of spin on his pitches. They were a little caught off guard that reporters knew the specific name of the sport’s new favorite way of doctoring baseballs, but they certainly weren’t surprised by Cole’s reaction.
And if they were anxious about what it might mean for themselves, they didn’t tell each other.
“We laughed it off,” a pitcher who was there told Yahoo Sports.