A former Los Angeles Angels clubhouse attendant has accused a second New York Yankees pitcher of doctoring baseballs in violation of Major League rules, naming two-time Cy Young winner Corey Kluber in report on Monday after previously implicating Gerrit Cole in a defamation lawsuit.
Brian ‘Bubba’ Harkins, who was fired in 2020 for providing sticky foreign substances to MLB pitchers, revealed to Sports Illustrated that Kluber was among a list of clients that included Cole.
In response to the allegation, Kluber’s agent, BB Abbott, told Sports illustrated that Harkins was lying.
‘[Harkins] never personally gave anything of the sort to Corey Kluber nor has he ever used any substance prepared by Bubba [Harkins] in a MLB game,’ Abbott told SI in defense of his client. ‘If he is saying anything contrary to that, it is a blatant lie.’
Harkins, who served as the Angels’ visiting clubhouse manager, sued the Angels and MLB for defamation in August of 2020 after becoming the only staffer to be fired amid the league-wide crackdown on doctored baseballs. He claims that Kluber became a regular customer of his when the All-Star was pitching for the Cleveland Indians after hearing about it from a teammate.
Although it’s technically prohibited, the practice of cutting balls or rubbing them with a foreign substances to improve grip, spin, and control is nothing new. However, MLB has recently begun cracking down on doctored baseballs as pitchers have enjoyed historic success: through May 31, MLB hitters were batting just .236, the lowest mark since 1968
A former Los Angeles Angels clubhouse attendant has accused a second New York Yankees pitcher of doctoring baseballs in violation of Major League rules, naming two-time Cy Young winner Corey Kluber (pictured) in report on Monday after previously implicating Gerrit Cole in a defamation lawsuit
Brian Harkins (right, alongside the Dodgers’ Matt Kemp in 2011) was the Angels’ visiting clubhouse manager before being fired in 2020 for helping pitchers doctor balls
In his lawsuit, Harkins argued that the practice was widespread. He shared an alleged text message from Yankees ace Gerrit Cole (pictured) in a January filing showing the All-Star requesting a concoction he claims he learned from former Angels reliever Troy Percival, who has since admitted to doctoring balls with a mixture of pine tar and rosi
In his lawsuit, Harkins argued that the practice was widespread. He also shared an alleged text message from Cole in a January filing showing the All-Star requesting a concoction he claims he learned from former Angels reliever Troy Percival, who has since admitted to doctoring balls with a mixture of pine tar and rosin.
‘Hey Bubba, it’s Gerrit Cole, I was wondering if you could help me out with this sticky situation,’ the pitcher wrote, according to Harkins’s filing. ‘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.’
Harkins’s lawsuit has since been tossed by a judge, who demanded that the former clubhouse attendant pay $35,000 in legal fees for the team and league.
Cole was pulled back into the controversy last week when Minnesota Twins third baseman Josh Donaldson casually brought the pitcher’s name up in an interview session, correlating a drop in Cole’s spin rate with MLB’s anticipated crackdown on the sticky stuff.
Cole sidestepped questions on Tuesday about his suspected use of Spider Tack, a sticky paste favored by weightlifters.
‘I don’t… I don’t know,’ Cole told reporters on a Zoom call in between several pauses. ‘I don’t quite know how to answer that, to be honest.’
The spin rate on Cole’s pitches has declined amid MLB’s crackdown on foreign substances.
According to MLB Statcast data on the website Baseball Savant, Cole had a 125 rotations per minute decrease in his four-seam fastball last week when he allowed five runs in five innings in a recent loss to Tampa Bay.
But rather than the sudden absence of Spider Tack, Cole blamed the diminished spin rate on his mechanics.
‘I’m just not quite bringing out my best delivery,’ Cole said. ‘Of course it’s something that we monitor. Of course there are other variables that we monitor as well when we’re evaluating our performance from every game. You try to take as much information as you can as a player, and certainly that’s one of them.
‘We’re trying to get better this week and put in the work, and I’ll be as prepared as I possibly can for my next start.’
Cole had a better outing on Wednesday, allowing two runs to the Minnesota Twins over six innings.
Harkins said he learned to make his pine tar/rosin concoction from former Angels reliever Troy Percival, who has since admitted to doctoring balls in spring training
MLB recently announced that pitchers are to be checked for foreign substances repeatedly by umpires, who are permitted to conduct 10 random checks per game.
At least four minor league pitchers have been suspended this season for using banned foreign substances to doctor baseballs — ostensibly evidence of a stronger crackdown in the game’s feeder system than in the big leagues during this historically dominant stretch of pitching.
There have been six no-hitters in the young season — one shy of the all-time record — and through May 31, MLB hitters were batting just .236, the lowest mark since 1968. The rise in pitcher dominance could be the result of home-brewed sticky substances, which are typically made from sunscreen and rosin or other prohibited materials, like Spider Tack.
The prevalence of doctored baseballs is suspected to have spiked in recent seasons, and as a result, pitchers are improving their spin rate and becoming harder to hit.
A rosin bag and a pine tar rag bearing the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim insignia lay on the field before MLB game action against the Toronto Blue Jays on May 12, 2014 at Rogers Centre in Toronto. The two things can be mixed by pitchers to gain an unfair advantage
Minnesota Twins third baseman Josh Donaldson casually wondered to reporters last week if Cole had been using a foreign substance because the spin rate on his pitches suddenly dropped as MLB’s crackdown got underway. ‘Is it coincidence that Gerrit Cole’s spin rate numbers went down (Thursday) after four minor leaguers got suspended for 10 games?’ Donaldson asked reporters on Friday. ‘Is that possible? I don’t know. Maybe’
Donaldson elaborated on the matter Wednesday to clarify that he’s concerned about many more opponents in the game than just Cole.
‘With Gerrit Cole, he was the first guy to pitch since the suspensions happened and he’s the first guy that you could see spin rates going down,’ Donaldson said. ‘There’s been 12 or more guys already whose spin rates have magically dropped in the last week, so it’s not just Gerrit Cole.’
Home plate umpire Brian O’Nora and Ron Kulpa examine the baseballs with Andrew Heaney of the Los Angeles Angels against the Astros at Minute Maid Park on April 23
Donaldson said he believes the usage of grip aids has ‘got out of control’ in the last few seasons.
‘If you were to give $100 fake counterfeit money to an experienced bank teller, right away within five seconds you’re going to know that that’s not real money,’ Donaldson said. ‘Just think about how many pitches I’ve seen in my career, think about Nelson Cruz, a lot of these guys who have seen a lot of pitches. We know when stuff’s up.’
Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Wednesday he’s anticipating an ‘aggressive’ crackdown at the major league level soon.
‘It’s gonna be a little bit different,’ he said.
Astros manager Dusty Baker noted last week that pitchers have been using foreign substances ‘since the beginning of time.’ While Baker says he will adhere to whatever mandates come from the league, he’s concerned about issues that could arise from stricter enforcement.
‘Everybody’s talking about speed of the game,’ he said. ‘This is gonna slow the game down even more. So I don’t know what we can do. I don’t know how enforceable it is. And the umpires have enough to worry about doing just calling balls and strikes and outs and safe.’
Cole was specifically asked about using Spider Tack – a sticky paste favored by weightlifters
St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Shildt was ejected from a game on May 26 when his pitcher, Giovanny Gallegos, was accused of using a sticky substance to doctor baseballs
Angels Stadium has been the scene for several memorable ball-doctoring incidents, none of which have been linked to Harkins.
In 2005 Angels reliever Brendan Donnelly was suspended 10 days for having pine tar on his glove during a game against Washington after then-Nationals manager Frank Robinson asked umpires to inspect his glove.
More famously, Twins veteran pitcher Joe Niekro was suspended 10 games after he tried – and failed – to toss away an emery board and a piece of sandpaper while umpires inspected him for a foreign substance during a game at Angels Stadium in 1987.
Niekro’s efforts to conceal the nail file are infamous. The junk-balling righty was told to empty his pockets, which he did, while nonchalantly dropping the emery board to the side, hoping to keep it out of view of the umpires.
Despite Niekro’s ploy, umpire Tim Tschida saw it hit the turf and immediately called for an ejection.
Twins pitcher Joe Niekro was suspended 10 games after he tried – and failed – to toss away an emery board and a piece of sandpaper while umpires inspected him for a foreign substance during a game at Angels Stadium in 1987. Niekro’s efforts to conceal the nail file are infamous. The junk-balling righty was told to empty his pockets, which he did, while nonchalantly dropping the emery board to the side, hoping to keep it out of view of the umpires