Superagent Scott Boras demands explanation for illegal-substance rule from MLB commissioner Rob Manfred
Questioning MLB’s new protocols, powerful baseball agent Scott Boras wants Commissioner Rob Manfred to answer why pitchers no longer can use a foreign substance, even if it’s just rosin and pine tar.
“Let the commissioner have a press conference," Boras told USA TODAY Sports, “and let him explain why they ignored the technical applications of this rule for over three decades. If they don’t want to certify these substances or have them use something else, let them do it. That’s fine. But don't sit here and let the players like, 'You do this. You do this,’ and make it look like it’s illicit. No, it’s customary practice.
"It’s a similar (to the) use of corticosteroids and anabolic steroids. They’re all steroids, right? How do we know one’s legal and one’s not, because they put boundaries on it, and they said, you can take corticosteroids, but you can't use anabolic steroids.’’
Boras, after speaking to USA TODAY Sports, later sent out a statement to USA TODAY and other media outlets. He said that teams were complicit in the illegal practice, including the Miami Marlins when Michael Hill was their general manager. Hill now works for MLB as a senior vice president of on-field operations.
“As former major league pitcher Brandon McCarthy suggested, MLB knew (as did all GMs, including Michael Hill), that clubs for years have taught pitchers to use a variety of gripping agents. This was the 'custom and practice' of all MLB teams and the commissioner’s office was fully aware their technical rule was informed by them and all MLB teams," Boras said in the statement.
“Certainly, the latest iterations of gripping substances and advances in performance measuring technology illustrates we have gone from the grip 'freeway' to the performance enhancing 'autobahn.' Everyone agrees limiting legislation is required and the commissioner’s office should have acted years before. There can be a certified gripping agent akin to the distinction before corticosteroids and anabolic steroids when one is considered an aid and the other is defined as performance enhancing, yet both are steroidal in form."
MLB announced on Tuesday that players caught violating the foreign-substance policy will automatically receive 10-game suspensions.
“However, to completely abolish gripping agents (other than rosin) creates a major issue as all MLB pitchers were taught (by their respective MLB teams) control of the baseball with the use of gripping substances," Boras continued.
He also noted the difficulties MLB umpires will have in enforcing the new rules:
“To suggest pine tar can be used (on bats) by the very same players that play defense is truly an umpire’s conundrum. The pitcher hits using pine tar and is suspended for applying the substance to the baseball, or the position player with pine tar on his throwing hand from the prior at-bat transfers it [to] the ball, and then both he and the pitcher are deprived of 10 days of performance for legal use of a permissible substance. The gray divide continues!!!!’’
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Scott Boras blasts MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred for lack of transparency
