MLB tells teams it will step up ‘sticky stuff’ enforcement: What you need to know

For the third straight season, Major League Baseball is taking measures to cut down on the use of “sticky stuff” by pitchers across the sport. Those inspections will now include “randomized checks of fingers, hands, hats, gloves, belts/waistlines and pants.” Pitchers may be subject to checks “before or after innings in which they pitch, and managers may make inspection requests of a pitcher or position player either before or after an at-bat.” The random checks are a change from last season, when inspections of starting pitchers were generally performed after the same innings every game. Instead, MLB is reacting to data that shows spin rates have ticked up steadily since the league’s much-ballyhooed June 2021 crackdown on Spider Tack and other high-potency sticky stuff. MONTH SPIN RPM MPH Sept. 2019 2,299 93.5 Sept. 2020 2,303 93.4 May 2021* 2,324 93.7 July 2021** 2,240 93.7 Sept. 2021 2,262 93.7 April 2022*** 2,256 93.7 Sept. 2022 2,292 94.0 Why else is MLB taking this action now? MLB’s data provides clear evidence that the June 2021 crackdown was highly effective in reducing spin rates.