Baseball Stuck to Yadi's Chest Protector

[Déjà Bru]

Originally Posted by Orcin

I think you are being a bit over sensitive, but I am truly sorry for hurting your feelings.

Perhaps. But let's continue the discussion without the personal insinuations.

As you were saying,

Originally Posted by Orcin

I agree that it absolutely should be investigated. I don't know how you would go about that now, since the baseball is long gone. The Cubs should have charged out of the dugout and demanded to see the ball at the time. The umpire should have stopped play and had Yadi's chest protector placed under lock and key. Since the evidence trail is quite tainted, I don't think an investigation is possible at this point. But hey, check Yadi's chest protector today and every day for the rest of the season if it makes you feel better.
Agreed. Not a bad suggestion, that last sentence.
Think about this... if there were enough sticky substance on the chest protector and/or ball to make a round baseball adhere to a flat plastic surface while a grown man is thrashing around looking for the ball, don't you think the umpire standing right there looking at it would have noticed?
Maybe it's time they noticed. That's part of what I am saying. This is a POSSIBLE indication that there is cheating in the game. If you recall, earlier I said there should be an investigation. That's all.
No one is saying the ball magically stuck to his chest protector. But your explanation has no merit or factual support. You are basically saying, "It's the only one I can think of so it must be true." So, let me ask you this, without any intention of being snide. How would you explain it? You are a Cardinals fan and I understand that but can you just be in favor of shrugging and smiling? If Molina was a Yankee, would you feel differently? (I wouldn't. I love baseball more than the Yankees.)

At the very least, the idea of allowing the catchers to apply sticky substances to their equipment should be looked at very carefully. Forget about the investigation into this particular incident, then. Going forward, catchers should not be allowed to do this anymore because it could affect game results unfairly. Does this extend to the rosin bag and pine tar on bat handles? I don't think so, because those do not directly affect pitch movement or bat impact. (Note the italics; a fine but important distinction.) This is tough stuff to debate and decide about, but not something to ignore.

[Orcin]

I can't explain it. That's my point. I wasn't there. I didn't see the evidence, i.e. ball and chest protector. If someone has evidence that proves what happened, I would love to see it. I said earlier in the thread that I would welcome an investigation. If it turns out that the ball and/or chest protector were indeed smeared with a sticky substance, then so be it. Baseball will have to decide if rules were violated and administer the appropriate punishment. As of now, there is no evidence on which to base that conclusion. We simply do not KNOW what happened. You might have an opinion, but it is unsubstantiated.

Why would it make any difference if Molina were a Yankee? The truth does not change based on rooting interest. You assume that I am defending Molina and Matheny solely because I am a Cardinals fan. Again, you don't know me, and you don't know my motives. In this particular case, I remain deeply disturbed and annoyed by people calling Molina and Matheny liars without any evidence to support their slander. It is one thing to say that "I think Molina/Matheny is lying". That's an opinion. When you say "Molina/Matheny is absolutely lying", it implies a level of knowledge and factual evidence that just does not exist.

I defend Molina and Matheny because I don't like people being tried and convicted in the court of public opinion. I realize that I am swimming upstream against the heavy current that is the toxic social media environment of 2017, full of absolutes and devoid of courtesy and empathy. I am not sure it is worth the effort, so I think I will just bow out of this discussion and do something more entertaining like play OOTP.

[swampdragon]

He had something on it. I've never seen that before, and I doubt any of you have, either. It's clearly an issue if a catcher can gum up the baseball while he's throwing it back to the pitcher. That being said...

1. It was Cold. The umpires let the players get away with a lot when it's cold, for better or for worse.
2. Orcin's right. The time for the Cubs to say something was right after the incident. They saw the same thing and are perfectly capable of, and probably did, make the same inferences. That fact alone leads me to believe that Molina's sin was one of degree, and that the Cubs wouldn't pass such an inspection either. Besides, you don't want the baseball slipping out of the pitcher's grip on a cold night because he can't feel his fingers. If the Cubs are going to laugh it off, why shouldn't we? Back to #1.

[AnotherAlias]

Here's a photo of Molina just after the ball was removed from his chest protector. There is clearly a DENT where the ball was EMBEDDED. If the ball was merely stuck by pine tar or anything else, there would not be a clear and recognizable dent in the material.

What we would see is a patch of brown pine tar on a smooth, flat surface.

Again, what makes anyone really believe that a person can control a pitch using a ball that has enough pine tar on it to stick to a chest protector after a pitch? For a ball to act in that manner, it would need to be smothered with pine tar, at the very least...and, if it IS smothered with enough to cause it to stick, how in the World could a pitcher control any single pitch.

:raises hand:

He can't.

Hard to believe I'm arguing for Molina, as I am a Cubs fan, but physics would not allow that ball to stick like that unless the seams cut deep enough into the protector's material to embed itself.

Again...look at the picture. The indentation is there. Just a freak thing. Let's get over this. Interesting to talk about, but there really is nothing to see here.

[drhay53]

Originally Posted by AnotherAlias

Here's a photo of Molina just after the ball was removed from his chest protector. There is clearly a DENT where the ball was EMBEDDED. If the ball was merely stuck by pine tar or anything else, there would not be a clear and recognizable dent in the material.

What we would see is a patch of brown pine tar on a smooth, flat surface.

Again, what makes anyone really believe that a person can control a pitch using a ball that has enough pine tar on it to stick to a chest protector after a pitch? For a ball to act in that manner, it would need to be smothered with pine tar, at the very least...and, if it IS smothered with enough to cause it to stick, how in the World could a pitcher control any single pitch.

:raises hand:

He can't.

Hard to believe I'm arguing for Molina, as I am a Cubs fan, but physics would not allow that ball to stick like that unless the seams cut deep enough into the protector's material to embed itself.

Again...look at the picture. The indentation is there. Just a freak thing. Let's get over this. Interesting to talk about, but there really is nothing to see here.

EDIT: I take it back, I just looked at the video online and I believe I was seeing the MLB logo on the baseball. Anyway MLB has cleared him, sorry to dig up the old thread.

I just wanted to point out that I'm pretty sure when he pulled the ball out it actually ripped off part of the chest protector. I remember seeing the red material stuck to the ball when I was watching the game live.