Cardinals reliever Giovanny Gallegos was told to swap out his hat mid-game for having a suspiciously shiny spot, likely from sunscreen and rosin. Umpire Joe West asked for the change as a precaution, saying they didn’t want anyone accusing Gallegos of cheating. That set off Cardinals manager Mike Shildt, who got tossed for arguing. He claimed the league was ignoring widespread use of much worse substances to boost spin rates while nitpicking legal combinations like sunscreen and rosin. Gallegos got a fresh hat and struck out two batters to end the inning, seemingly unfazed by the whole scene.
The hat swap was just a small piece of a bigger issue. Pitchers across the league are using sticky stuff not just to grip the ball, but to increase spin and gain a clear advantage. Shildt, JT Realmuto, Josh Donaldson, Trevor Bauer, and others have all pointed out that pine tar, rosin, and sunscreen aren’t the real problem. It’s the glue-like concoctions now openly used on the mound, turning average breaking balls into elite ones. The league has known about it for years but never cracked down. In fact, MLB has been collecting baseballs this season to study the problem but told teams no punishments were coming, effectively giving pitchers a free pass while they research.
Trevor Bauer was the first to say it publicly, tweeting back in 2018 that spin rate gains from sticky stuff were massive. He even posted combinations and recipes. Bauer said players could be traded and see huge gains just by adding illegal grip aids. MLB ignored it until recently, and now the same people who ignored the warnings are accusing Bauer of being the main culprit. Most around the game agree there needs to be a change. Whether that’s enforcing current rules or legalizing standard substances remains to be seen. But the league’s leniency has turned a chemistry experiment into a growing controversy.