Pitchers using illegal, sticky substances to improve their grips on the baseball has become the biggest storyline of the 2021 season. On Wednesday, the broad conversation on the subject added a new wrinkle when Mets first baseman Pete Alonso weighed in on the issue.
Speaking to reporters ahead of New York's game against the Orioles, Alonso posited that the league has been altering the baseball on a yearly basis based on the following offseason's free agency class, implying that MLB is attempting to limit players' earning power just before they become available on the open market.
“The biggest concern is that Major League Baseball manipulates the baseballs year in and year out depending on the free agency class, or guys being in an advanced part of their arbitration," Alonso said.