‘This is not the answer’: MLB’s foreign substance enforcement has rocky beginning

Washington Nationals’ Max Scherzer reacts before being checked for foreign substances during a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Tuesday, June 22, 2021, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)Max Scherzer’s nightmare situation almost occurred in the fourth inning Tuesday night, when a 95.3-mph fastball slipped out of his hand and sailed up and in on Alec Bohm. Using only rosin during his start — the lone grip agent MLB allows pitchers to employ anymore after a clampdown on foreign substances — Scherzer struggled to find his grip.

He licked his fingers. But Scherzer quickly quashed that plan to enhance his grip on the baseball because he was “eating rosin,” and rosin “tastes…