MLB To Address Use Of Pine Tar For Pitchers

Major League Baseball and commissioner Bud Selig know that there is a problem, they know that it's running rampant around the league, and they know that everyone knows it. Sound familiar? I'm not talking about steroids here this time, I'm talking about the use of pine tar. We all know about Michael Pineda dipping his palm in a can of pine tar three weeks ago against the Red Sox and we all know about the pine tar hickey that got him suspended for 10 games, the longest foreign substance suspension in the history of the game for pitchers, but there may be change on the horizon.

Selig told the Associated Press last week that they would be willing to look at allowing, or continuing to disallow obviously, the use of pine tar for pitchers in the league. Most pitchers, former and current, have admitted to using pine tar for getting a better grip on cold night and most batters admit to have no problem with it. You cannot cut the ball with pine tar, you cannot make it flutter, you can't throw it faster or necessarily better, you just grip the ball better. Batters in the league can use pine tar and batting gloves to grip the bat so I don't personally see a problem with it but maybe it's me. 

Here are the quotes from commissioner Selig to the AP:

"There's a million ways to [use it discreetly]," Selig said. "This one, I can understand why [MLB discipline czar] Joe Torre reacted how he did [with a lengthy suspension]. It was obvious."

"When the year is over, we ought to look at all this."