Indians starting pitcher Trevor Bauer isn't shy about creating controversy on Twitter. In his latest episode, he comes pretty close to accusing the Astros pitching staff of cheating. He dances around it some, insinuates it some, but in totality, it's pretty clear that's the spin.
If only there was just a really quick way to increase spin rate. Like what if you could trade for a player knowing that you could bump his spin rate a couple hundred rpm overnight...imagine the steals you could get on the trade market! If only that existed...
Vague, but it's clear there's a sarcastic implication in here. Astros starter Lance McCullers took umbrage.
Jealousy isn’t a good look on you my man. You have great stuff and have worked hard for it, like the rest of us, no need for this. I will ask though because my spin rate and spin axis on my 4 seem is a$$.
As noted, though Bauer doesn't straight up say, "the Astros are cheating," the totality of the message is just that. He's saying Astros pitchers are using sticky, foreign substances to increase their spin rate, which helps with breaking stuff and velocity, among other things. Let's take a look.
With fastballs, Justin Verlander is first in spin rate among starting pitchers. On curveballs, Charlie Morton is second among qualified starters after Garrett Richards while Verlander is in the top 10.
We've also seen players make pretty big leaps once joining the Astros or getting together with the forward-thinking front office.
Through April, the Astros lead the majors in rotation ERA by a pretty big margin (2.54 with the Diamondbacks at 2.96 and no one else below 3.20).
If only there was just a really quick way to increase spin rate. Like what if you could trade for a player knowing that you could bump his spin rate a couple hundred rpm overnight...imagine the steals you could get on the trade market! If only that existed...
Vague, but it's clear there's a sarcastic implication in here. Astros starter Lance McCullers took umbrage.
Jealousy isn’t a good look on you my man. You have great stuff and have worked hard for it, like the rest of us, no need for this. I will ask though because my spin rate and spin axis on my 4 seem is a$$.
As noted, though Bauer doesn't straight up say, "the Astros are cheating," the totality of the message is just that. He's saying Astros pitchers are using sticky, foreign substances to increase their spin rate, which helps with breaking stuff and velocity, among other things. Let's take a look.
With fastballs, Justin Verlander is first in spin rate among starting pitchers. On curveballs, Charlie Morton is second among qualified starters after Garrett Richards while Verlander is in the top 10.
We've also seen players make pretty big leaps once joining the Astros or getting together with the forward-thinking front office.
Through April, the Astros lead the majors in rotation ERA by a pretty big margin (2.54 with the Diamondbacks at 2.96 and no one else below 3.20).
