Baseball fans think Yankees pitcher Domingo German got away with using sticky stuff to increase his spin rate, but what’s the real story?
Domingo German was warned by umpires not to use so-called sticky stuff during his start against the Minnesota Twins, but manager Rocco Baldelli believes he should’ve been tossed as a result. Instead, German was given the opportunity to wash his hands in the fourth inning.
As FanSided’s Luke Banquero pointed out, the umpires made it clear to German that he needed to clean up his act. Rather than throwing him out for using foreign substances, German was given a new lease on life.
"“Although most of the conversation was not clear, there was one clear line said by the umpires. “Wash your hands before you come out,” and “We can’t let you come back out here,” were said from Hoye to German. That led to Baldelli having a heated exchange with the umpires as it seems like the umpires saw a use of illegal substances.”"
I’m not lip-reader, but it also appeared that one umpire told German “I told you to wipe it off.” Ben Verlander confirmed this in a recent tweet.
Did Domingo German get away with cheating?
For German to receive not one, but two chances despite potentially using foreign substances is rare. However, it’s not on German for supposedly cheating. There easily could’ve been a miscommunication, given English is not German’s first language. It’s also unclear exactly what the substance was. If German is using a little too much rosin, he shouldn’t be ejected.
Some fans on social media pointed to decreased spin rates on German’s pitches once he was told to wash his hands.
While a little sketchy that the spin rate decreased, this relatively small level of RPM doesn’t make much of a difference. It should be noted that some of the above figures are incorrect, as well. But they’re not far off.
So yes, perhaps German got away with one. But to suggest he cheated and was corroborated by umpires is a step too far.