Are you ready for some chaos? Because some might be coming soon, to a ballpark near you.
Major League Baseball is about to step up enforcement of a rule that's been on the books for some time, prohibiting the use of foreign substances on baseballs.
The rule has mostly ignored by MLB and its umpires -- unless a complaint is lodged by one team against the other. But in the last year or two, the feeling across the game is that the illegal use has become far more widespread -- some have even suggested commonplace -- and so aided pitchers that offense has been depressed to record-low levels.
Unable to ignore it any longer, MLB plans to announce plans later this week or early next on how it plans to greatly step up enforcement and what penalties will be meted out. The march toward a more intense policing is on; all that's missing now are the details.
And that's where things could get ugly.
Think of it this way: Imagine, if at the height of the steroid era, MLB had some instant test that could be given to players in-game to determine whether they were using PEDs. A positive test would result in a player being ejected from the game and a replacement needed immediately.
Sounds dramatic, right?
Well, that could be happening by the middle of next week. Except this time, it's pitchers -- not hitters -- in the crosshairs.
For now, we have no idea how this will play out. But it has the potential to disrupt games in a way that can only be imagined. There's speculation that umpires may -- either randomly or as a matter of course -- check every pitcher who comes into the game.
First, think about the amount of time that may consume. On average teams use four pitchers per game. So even if starters can be checked before the first pitch is thrown, that's three relievers at the length of a couple of minutes each, times two. These inspections could easily add 10 or more minutes that are already too long.
Now, think about what will happen when the umpires find something: on the brim of a hat, on the back of the neck, on a sleeve. While there may be some initial discretion given to umpires who may at first just issue warnings or order the removal of the offending equipment -- more time consumed -- eventually, we'll get to more of a zero-tolerance level.
So what happens if a player is found to have an illegal substance on his person or uniform or equipment? It's rare that managers warm up two pitchers at once, so in all likelihood, there would be no replacement properly warmed up and ready to go. That, too, will drain time -- several minutes if not more.
And then there's the matter of selective enforcement. If an umpire checks on a reliever for one team, but doesn't inspect a pitcher from the other, will there be cries of unequal treatment? Will we see more manager-umpire confrontations (more time!) as a result?
"I've thought about all of what you just said,'' acknowledged Alex Cora. "Pace of game...relievers....usage...suspensions...rosters...all that stuff. MLB does a pretty good job with stuff like this when they're all the way in like this. They're going to come hard. It's going to be black-and-white; it's not going to be gray area. We just have to wait and see. But there's a lot of stuff we're concerned about - and it's not the sticky stuff or whatever. It's the other stuff that's going to come into play with a decision like this.''
Get ready for SportsCenter to be showing surprise mound inspections and resulting ejections for weeks to come. The crackdown will dominate the media coverage and obscure great performances. Just as talk of steroids became the narrative of which baseball couldn't rid itself, the possibility exists that we'll see more of the same with foreign substances.
Every poor outing by a starter will be taken as proof positive that he had been previously loading up the ball. Conversely, every quality start will be an invitation to slander the winning pitcher.
Look, as is often the case, MLB has brought this mess on itself. It allowed this practice of doctoring balls with enough stick-um to make Lester Hayes blush and now, it has a full-blown epidemic on its hands. Had this been addressed head-on years ago, when the use became more popular, it would never have gotten to this point. For too long, as was the case with PEDs, MLB chose to look the other way, and now it has no choice but to look at the problem directly and solve it.
Before that can happen, however, expect longer games, tedious equipment checks and another dark cloud hanging over a sport that too often can't get out of its own way.
