ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Red Sox righthander Hirokazu Sawamura said he felt “like a criminal” on Tuesday night after the umpires checked his cap and glove for illegal substances during a taut game against the Tampa Bay Rays.
“I understand there’s a problem now in baseball,” Sawamura said Wednesday during a 10-minute conversation aided by his interpreter, Yutaro Yamaguchi. “But it doesn’t seem necessary to make the umpires check every pitcher.”
In his mind there’s a much easier way to clean up the game. Make a better baseball.
In Japan and South Korea, players use Mizuno baseballs manufactured with a tacky cover. There’s no reason to use pine tar, sunscreen, or even rosin to get a better grip.
“The ball that comes out of the box is ready to use,” Sawamura said. “The MLB ball is slick. That has been the case for a long time. Even in Japan, we knew this was an issue.”
Sawamura said he’s been able to throw the MLB baseball, made by Rawlings, without resorting to any substances. But he is apparently an outlier given MLB’s public crackdown.
Sawamura recently showed some teammates a few Japanese baseballs he had.
“Everybody liked them,” he said. “I can’t say for sure this would be the best solution. But it’s worth a try.”
Given how baseball has experimented with rules changes in the minors, a new ball might get the same sort of trial run before being used in the majors.