Does Cliff Lee's dirty hat give him an advantage?
Texas Rangers' ace pitcher, Cliff Lee, is laughing off suggestions that he’s using a dirty cap to put grime on the ball, giving him an advantage.
“It definitely makes me way better. I know that much,” said Lee. “Without that hat, I don't know if I could do it. I don't know. It's rosin is what it is. I go to the rosin bag quite a bit. I touch my hat in the same place over and over. And it just accumulates.
I couldn't pitch without it for sure.”
Michael Kay, a broadcaster for the New York Yankees, says that a combination of rosin and sweat on the brim of Lee’s cap creates a substance that Lee then uses to get a better grip on the ball for breaking balls.
“I would think that's illegal,” said Kay.
The rule from the Official MLB Rulebook states: “A pitcher may use the rosin bag for the purpose of applying rosin to his bare hand or hands. Neither the pitcher nor any other player shall dust the ball with the rosin bag; neither shall the pitcher nor
any other player be permitted to apply rosin from the bag to his glove or dust any part of his uniform with the rosin bag.”
Neither rosin nor sweating is illegal, but players cannot apply the rosin to ‘any part of his uniform’, that includes the cap. It’s a bit of a stretch to say that Lee is cheating, and it’s very likely that nothing will come of it this season, but it could
prompt a rule change in the off-season.
It will also be interesting to see if Yankee’s manager, Joe Girardi, attempts to complain to the umpire a couple innings into Game 3 of the American League Championship Series (ALCS) between the New York Yankees and the Texas Rangers Monday night, when the
grime has built up a bit. So far Girardi has said publically that he sees no problem with Lee touching his hat during the game.
“It's rosin. It's available to everybody,” he said. “If it was maybe right here and was a distraction to the hitter, I might question it. But I haven't seen it to be a problem.”
Another concern is just how the umpires would call situations like this if it was determined that Lee is breaking a rule. Would players be allowed to touch their hats at all, or would they only have to stop touching their hats once some substance had built
up on them.
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