---

https://tinyurl.com/y45pnplt

The text message from then-Houston Astros star Gerrit Cole to former Angels
visiting clubhouse manager Brian “Bubba” Harkins was sent Jan. 17, 2019, at
11:39 a.m.

“Hey Bubba, it's Gerrit Cole, I was wondering if you could help me out with
this sticky situation,” the pitcher wrote, adding a wink emoji. “We don't
see you until May, but we have some road games in April that are in cold
weather places. The stuff I had last year seizes up when it gets cold.”

The exchange between Cole, now the New York Yankees ace, and Harkins, who was
fired last March for providing illegal ball-doctoring substances to visiting
pitchers, was submitted in Orange County Superior Court as evidence Thursday
by an attorney claiming Harkins was made a “public scapegoat” in baseball’
s efforts to crack down on the use of foreign substances.

...
...

In an opposition to the motion, filed Thursday, Harkins claimed many Angels
used his concoction of rosin and pine tar over the years, “including Troy
Percival, Brendan Donnelly, Tyler Chatwood, Kevin Jepsen and, most recently,
Cam Bedrosian, Keynan Middleton, Yusmeiro Petit, Luke Bard, Matt Andriese,
Dylan Peters, Jose Suarez and Dylan Bundy.”

...
...

Harkins also claimed that MLB has evidence implicating several star pitchers
— including Cole, Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Felix Hernandez, Corey
Kluber and Adam Wainwright — for using foreign substances to improve their
grip on the ball.

...
...

Harkins was fired by former Angels general manager Billy Eppler on March 3,
three days after the league issued a memo to teams saying it would be
enforcing a long-ignored policy forbidding the use of illegal substances to
enhance a pitcher's grip. Hitters rarely complain because a better grip
usually means better control — and less chance of being hit in the head by a
97-mph fastball.

...
...


--
--
※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc), 來自: 73.202.53.159 (美國)
※ 文章代碼(AID): #1V-ETUK6 (Baseball)
※ 文章網址: https://www.ptt.cc/bbs/Baseball/M.1610147678.A.506.html