Yankees’ Michael Pineda Suspended 10 Games for Pine Tar

New York Yankees right hander Michael Pineda was handed a 10 game suspension for “possessing a foreign substance on his person” during the Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox game on April 23rd.  The substance in question was pine tar, and he had it stashed in plain sight on his neck. The pitcher said he was looking for some way to get a better grip on the ball in the cold weather, but foreign substances like that cannot be used. Pineda accepted responsibility and will not appeal the decision.

Here he is getting caught:

Reaction from players was actually fairly mild, with most of the thinking being that it’s against the rules but players are always looking for an edge and will push the envelope.  The most celebrated practitioner of this was Hall of Famer Gaylord Perry, who won over 300 games in his career.  Perry was an expert at getting inside the heads of the opposition, and made his living making players, managers, and umpires think he was doctoring the ball.  Or not.   When asked about Pineda, Perry said he was too obvious and needed to be more discreet in the future.  Perhaps Perry could give Pineda some tips on how to do that.