After gambling over the question of the alleged use of illegal substances during the throw, Yankees ace Gerrit Cole had to draw a lot of attention for his start on Wednesday against the Twins.
New York Post reporter Ken Davidoff on Tuesday asked Cole if he used Spider Tack, a substance believed to be used by pitchers to increase revs on their pitches. Cole’s the answer was a surprised non-response.
Well, what was his rotation speed in the first trip on the mound since he was put on the spot?
MORE: What to know about MLB’s sticky situation with pitchers and foreign substances
Well, not so different from previous trips. According to data from Baseball Savant, his fast ball dropped by 59 rpm, his slider by 87 rpm, the curve by 5 rpm and the change by 125 rpm compared to the season average. In other words, the difference was small.
| Pitch | Max spin | Min rotation | Average turning | Average turn ’21 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fastball | 2,606 th most common | 2,299 th most common | 2,493 th most common | 2,552 th most common |
| Curveball | 3,032 th most common | 2,673 th most common | 2,837 th most common | 2,832 th most common |
| Slider | 2,732 th most common | 2,421 th most common | 2,621 th most common | 2,708 th most common |
| Changeup | 2,160 | 1,709 th most common | 1,870 th most common | 1,745 th most common |
Several of Cole’s best pitches came against Twins third-grader Josh Donaldson, who on Sunday he called out to Cole for a lower rev rate in his previous start, made by Cole after four minor league pitchers received suspensions of 10 games due to the use of foreign substances.
Cole faced Donaldson three times on Wednesday and threw four of his 11 toughest pitches of the evening at him – including two of just four quick balls that exceed 100 mph. In the first shift, he hit Donaldson on a curve that had the fifth highest speed of the night at 2,901 rpm, then looked him down.
Cole told reporters on his post-game Zoom call that club talks and player association calls would be the best way to further address issues like sticky baseballs.
“I certainly think, you know, things against player-type players, I certainly think there’s a way to deal with that, and especially in a negotiating year, there’s probably a smart way to do it with a lot of heat on us and obviously getting into a situation where we can bring some from the things you mentioned, the rules on the field and the like, getting into that situation, so we hope that we will continue to have talks in our club house, that we will continue to have talks on union calls, ”Cole said. He is a member of the MLBPA Executive Subcommittee. “You know it’s a forum for exchanging opinions and going to the same page about things, and so, I guess, just look to keep using it to express how we ultimately see the future of this game.”
Gerrit Cole discusses whether he cares how players discuss foreign substance rules in the future
“We hope that we will continue to hold talks in our club house, that we will continue to hold talks on union invitations … it is a forum for exchanging your opinions” pic.twitter.com/7qDesLONuH
– Yankees Videos (@snyyankees) June 10, 2021
Top revs or not, Cole had no problems with the rest of the Gemini on Wednesday either. He allowed two races on five goals, no walks and nine strokes, over six innings. The Yankees won 9-6.
The two races came in stand-alone home races; the first to Jorge Polanac, and the second to Miguel San. Polanca’s home race was at a speed of 98.3 km / h with a spin speed of 2,349 rpm, and Sano’s bomb fell from a speed of 97.9 mph with a rotation speed of 2,402 rpm.
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