MLB to continue checking pitchers for foreign substances in 2022, memo says

Major League Baseball, wary of players finding new ways to add additional tack to the baseball, will continue to routinely inspect pitchers for foreign substances during the 2022 season, according to an internal memo obtained by ESPN.

The memo, distributed to teams on Friday by MLB senior vice president of on-field operations Michael Hill, states that all pitchers should expect at least one inspection by umpires every time they appear in a game, either between innings or during pitching changes (starters will be subject to more). Those believed to have added illegal sticky substances to the baseball, which constitutes anything outside of the standard rosin bag, will be ejected and subsequently suspended.

This year, in what MLB described as part of a «less invasive» procedure, umpires will check for sticky substances directly on a pitcher's hand rather than focusing on gloves and belt buckles like they did for the last four months of the 2021 season. Umpires are instructed to use their thumbs to inspect pitchers' hands from top to bottom and look for «any unusual looking foreign substances, including suspicious clumps or discoloration,» according to the memo.

Sports Illustrated first reported on the league's new protocols.

«We want to thank the players for their cooperation last season and the umpires for doing an outstanding job of carrying out enforcement of the rule with great professionalism,» Hill said as part of a statement to ESPN. «We saw a clear positive impact on the field with more balls in play, more action in the game, more runs scored and a return to the art of pitching with fewer strikeouts. We are encouraged the game moved in the right direction towards the version of baseball that our fans have told us