World Series 2013: Foreign substance spotted in glove of Red Sox’s Jon Lester – possible cheating? (Video)
By Bryan Rose
The St. Louis Cardinals haven’t hit left handed pitching all season long, so it wasn’t exactly a shock that Boston Red Sox starter Jon Lester shut the Red Birds down during Game 1 of the 2013 World Series.
Though, he may have had a bit of help thanks to a foreign substance that appeared in the corner of Lester’s glove.
Watching the game on television was Cardinals minor league pitcher Tyler Melling, who’s obviously well aware of the little tips and tricks that players (especially pitchers) can use to their advantage.
Melling noticed Lester continually going to the corner of his glove, so he whipped out his phone and captured the Red Sox starter doing the following:
Whatever it is – it’s clearly not allowed on the field of play.
My first guess would be some type of jelly based material, maybe sunblock or Vaseline, as Melling suggests as well. But that’s not exactly shocking as pitchers use a rosin based mixture with lotion to get a grip, despite rules suggesting they shouldn’t be allowed to do so. Either way, foreign substance or not, the Cardinals did themselves in with their own mental errors and poor play, but there’s no doubt this is going to catch the eye of the league office and at least put umpires on high alert for the remainder of the series.