In an effort to crack down on pitchers using foreign substances that increase spin rate, MLB announced this week that pitchers would be checked multiple times per game by the umpires. The league also announced a series of punishments for any pitchers who get caught using foreign substances on the mound.
Well, Charles Barkley was not impressed.
According to MLB, any pitcher caught using a foreign substance to affect the ball will be automatically ejected and suspended for 10 games *with* pay. Repeat offenders would be subject to increasingly harsher punishments, but the idea of a 10-day paid vacation didn’t exactly have MLB looking as tough as it thought.
During Monday’s Inside the NBA on TNT, Barkley made a point to give MLB a sarcastic shoutout about the weak punishment.
Charles Barkley sarcastically says good job to MLB for suspending pitchers who use foreign substances for 10 days with pay
(h/t @bbletter) pic.twitter.com/yotnxseMrW
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) June 15, 2021
Barkley said, sarcastically:
“I just want to give a shoutout to Major League Baseball. I saw where if y’all catch pitchers cheating, you’re gonna suspend them for 10 days with pay. Way to stick it to those cheaters.”
While the 10-days-with-pay suspension is pretty hilarious, the likely deterrent in MLB’s mind is that suspended players can’t be replaced on the roster. So, the idea of losing a pitcher from the rotation or a key member of the bullpen could put teams in an incredibly tough spot.
And in most cases, no player wants to be the one in the clubhouse who let the whole team down by getting caught with foreign substances and suspended for 10 days. Though if the clubhouse chemistry is already lagging, that’s a nice golf trip on MLB’s dime.
We’ll have to see what kind of impact these new rules make, but the punishments do look weak.
