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Thread: Bubba Harkins - LAA employee fired - accused of giving grip substance to pitchers

  1. #1
    Member Bourgeois Zee's Avatar
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    Bubba Harkins - LAA employee fired - accused of giving grip substance to pitchers

    Who's Bubba Harkins? He's a former Angels' visitors' clubhouse manager who was dismissed amidst allegations he’d been providing opposing teams’ pitchers foreign substances to aid their grip on the baseball. His counter-suit alleges that multiple pitchers have been using a mixture of pine tar and rosin to grip the ball better and throw harder breaking stuff. (Trevor Bauer alleged the same thing through the beginning of last season, then allegedly began using the substance himself on his way to a Cy Young Award.)

    If this breaks open, perhaps MLB will consider banning all substances.

    That should see a noticeable jump in offense (and far fewer K's). If they (MLB) also deaden the ball a bit, what might have been HR will become doubles and triples and might go a long way toward "fixing" the biggest complaint with the game among some fans.

    Thoughts?

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    REDREAD (01-08-2021)


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    Member Crosley68's Avatar
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    Re: Bibba Harkins may hold the key to a better balance between hitting and pitching

    Maybe also an increase in hit batsmen. Hitters have often been in favor of pitchers getting a bit better grip on the ball to avoid uncontrollable slippery balls.
    Let's play two!!!

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    Maple SERP savafan's Avatar
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    Re: Bibba Harkins may hold the key to a better balance between hitting and pitching

    Quote Originally Posted by Crosley68 View Post
    uncontrollable slippery balls.
    I think we're all in favor of less uncontrollable slippery balls.
    Last edited by savafan; 01-08-2021 at 01:14 PM.
    My dad got to enjoy 3 Reds World Championships by the time he was my age. So far, I've only gotten to enjoy one. Step it up Redlegs!

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    Member Bourgeois Zee's Avatar
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    Re: Bibba Harkins may hold the key to a better balance between hitting and pitching

    Quote Originally Posted by savafan View Post
    I think we're all in favor of uncontrollable slippery balls.
    I am decidedly NOT in favor of uncontrollable slippery balls.

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    boxseat (01-13-2021)

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    Maple SERP savafan's Avatar
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    Re: Bibba Harkins may hold the key to a better balance between hitting and pitching

    Quote Originally Posted by Bourgeois Zee View Post
    I am decidedly NOT in favor of uncontrollable slippery balls.
    I forgot a word
    My dad got to enjoy 3 Reds World Championships by the time he was my age. So far, I've only gotten to enjoy one. Step it up Redlegs!

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    Bourgeois Zee (01-08-2021)

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    A Lost Ball In High Weeds shredda2000's Avatar
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    Uh-Oh--Here We Go!

    "I don't want to embarrass any other catcher by comparing him to Johnny Bench."
    Sparky Anderson

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    Member Bourgeois Zee's Avatar
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    Re: Bibba Harkins may hold the key to a better balance between hitting and pitching

    Quote Originally Posted by savafan View Post
    I forgot a word
    The second-most important word in that sentence, sava!

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    Member 757690's Avatar
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    Re: Bibba Harkins may hold the key to a better balance between hitting and pitching

    Quote Originally Posted by savafan View Post
    I forgot a word
    Annoying grammar police post:

    The word you wanted to add is “fewer”
    Hoping to change my username to 75769023

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    marcshoe (01-08-2021),Red Raindog (01-08-2021)

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    Member HammerTime's Avatar
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    Re: Bibba Harkins may hold the key to a better balance between hitting and pitching

    Bauer basically openly admitted to doing this already so not a shock at all.

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    Re: Bibba Harkins may hold the key to a better balance between hitting and pitching

    Quote Originally Posted by HammerTime View Post
    Bauer basically openly admitted to doing this already so not a shock at all.
    Interesting that it was a former pitcher (Chris Young) who became the public face of the enforcement of 6.02. Could have been in the works prior to Torre leaving the MLB VP role, of course.

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    he/him *BaseClogger*'s Avatar
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    Re: Uh-Oh--Here We Go!

    Kinda reminds me of the steroid scandal--it's so widespread I greet it with a shrug of indifference...

  18. #12
    rest in power, king Wonderful Monds's Avatar
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    Re: Uh-Oh--Here We Go!

    With the kind of rumors that have been circling the Reds all off season, you really gotta give that thread another title. Nearly had a heart attack.

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    CaiGuy (01-08-2021),Revering4Blue (01-08-2021)

  20. #13
    Member bm1475's Avatar
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    Re: Bibba Harkins - LAA employee fired - accused of giving grip substance to pitchers

    Not sure why this is any kind of "-gate" as I thought it was an open thing at this point that pitchers added grip via illicit substances. It's pretty funny that Chris Young of "six foot ten and his only effective pitch is a fastball from a weird angle and the second pitch was the worst curve you've ever seen" fame was the Enforcer considering that he probably would have benefitted most from something giving him a breaking ball worth a dollar. Rob Manfred won't care and no one will get in trouble and the beat goes on.

  21. #14
    Member marcshoe's Avatar
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    Re: Bibba Harkins - LAA employee fired - accused of giving grip substance to pitchers

    Then it's an open gate.
    It is on the whole probable that we continually dream, but that consciousness makes such a noise that we do not hear it. Carl Jung.

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    Revering4Blue (01-08-2021)

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    Re: Bibba Harkins - LAA employee fired - accused of giving grip substance to pitchers

    Quote Originally Posted by bm1475 View Post
    It's pretty funny that Chris Young of "six foot ten and his only effective pitch is a fastball from a weird angle and the second pitch was the worst curve you've ever seen" fame was the Enforcer considering that he probably would have benefitted most from something giving him a breaking ball worth a dollar.
    Young had a 13-year MLB career, was an All-Star, led the NL in hits/9 twice and his #2 similarity score is Trevor Bauer, who never has been accused of lacking stuff (#1 is Ben McDonald). Not sure why his pitching is getting slandered.

    And it seems as if some pitchers/players/people just prefer that rules are followed. The apparent open secret of pitchers' use of extra sauce explains how steroids were similarly tolerated for a generation (and greenies for a generation before that).


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