MLB owners emerge from meeting with plan to combat cheating epidemic

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Major league owners concluded two days of meetings Thursday with a plan to increase enforcement against pitchers using illegal sticky substances in the game.

Major league owners concluded two days of meetings Thursday with a plan to increase enforcement against pitchers using illegal sticky substances in the game.

The league would not comment on the context of the meetings, but sources involved said the current strategy is three-pronged:

Place a greater responsibility on teams to enforce rules against doctoring the ball within their own clubs.

Empowering umpires to check, especially caps, gloves and uniforms, if there are clear signs of illegal substances on a pitcher. The hope is to throw out a piece of equipment/uniform rather than the player as a way to avoid suspensions and confrontations with players and the union.

Stepping up enforcement in the minor leagues as a way to address a systemic problem within the sport.

Concerned that the use of illegal sticky substances were part of the brew decreasing offense, MLB announced in spring training that it would be increasing its monitoring of the problem. The league has been collecting balls, monitoring clubhouses, reviewing video and observing spin rates (which are most positively impacted by sticky substances).

MLB can still suspend a pitcher caught doctoring a baseball – and 10 games has been the standard. But the current plan seems to be to try to discourage use and eliminate the substance if possible without major confrontation.

After two months of games, MLB felt it had a good feel for what was being used, to what effect and by whom. The league considered the problem substantial enough to present the data at the owners meeting with a decision to intensify efforts to stem the usage, particularly because of how offenses are being suffocated. The MLB batting average going into Thursday was .236, which would be the lowest ever. Plate appearances were ending in a strikeout 24.2 percent of the time.

The use of sticky substances has grown in recent years as the sport became more aware of the effectiveness of spinning the ball with greater revolutions. The increase improves movement on breaking balls and allows better gravity-defying ride through the zone. To gain the spin pitchers have moved to stickier and stickier substances – all illegal.

MLB is hoping that greater concentration and enforcement will lead to more offense as the second progresses. The league will be able to monitor the results and decide – at that point – if even greater measures are needed within collective bargaining with the Players Association.

This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Joel Sherman