Baseballs removed from Trevor Bauer’s last outing

According to an article from The Athletic, Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer had balls from his previous start taken into review by the umpires.

The article says that umpires from Bauer’s start in Oakland on Wednesday collected multiple balls he threw during the game. The balls had visible markings and were sticky, and were sent to the league offices for further inspection. As it mentions in the piece, it’s unclear as to whether or not the league can prove Bauer is responsible for this.

Yet, even if the balls Bauer threw are found to have contained foreign substances, it remains to be seen whether the league can prove he was responsible for their application, or whether any punishment imposed by commissioner Rob Manfred would stand.

Here’s an excerpt from an article talking about the league planning to crack down on this issue for the season.

According to the league’s March 23 memo, which was sent by MLB vice-president of on-field operations Michael Hill to high-ranking officials with all 30 clubs, the commissioner’s office will review Statcast data this season to analyze changes in spin rates of pitchers suspected of using foreign substances, and compare those spin rates to the pitchers’ career norms. However, sources said the scrutiny of Bauer on Wednesday arose not from spin-rate analysis, but balls being brought to the umpires’ attention.

Bauer released this on Twitter shortly after the article dropped.

For those with a subscription to The Athletic, you can read the full article here.

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