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Lifelong Dodgers fan here. Have been following this scandal closely as Trevor Bauer is one of the big faces of it. He publicly denounced use of “sticky stuff” i

Lifelong Dodgers fan here. Have been following this scandal closely as Trevor Bauer is one of the big faces of it. He publicly denounced use of “sticky stuff” in 2017 and 2018 and tweeted about how much more rpm his pitches would get when he experimented with it. When nothing came of this his spin rate increased dramatically and he won the Cy Young award in 2020. This is his first year on the Dodgers and we have been watching pretty much every game. Bauer’s last four outings he has been much less dominant than earlier in the season. This comes after some of his game balls confiscated for analysis by MLB. We finally checked the stats today and sure enough his rpm’s are down again the last few starts. So the threat of enforcement does seem to be having an impact, at least in the short term. I’m glad the league is cracking down because after the Astros sign stealing scandal (of which the Dodgers were arguably one of the biggest victims) the last thing I want is for our team to now be the face of a new cheating scandal

ashtonkem 5y ago
> So the threat of enforcement does seem to be having an impact, at least in the short term. This is how the US solved the hijacking problem in the 1970s; threat to do occasional random searches of passengers. Apparently airport security reported finding abandoned firearms outside in the bushes whenever they put up the “passengers may be searched” signs.
- TwoBit 5y ago
  Why would a hijacker abandon weapons? If their goal was hijacking and they found they were to be searched then why even board the plane? Just go back home with your weapon.
  - Spooky23 5y ago
    Hijacking was different in those days. It was often a means of political protest or transportation. Another thing to consider is non-hijackers carrying guns for their own reasons. It was fairly common for business travelers to carry a lot of cash, and carry a gun while doing so.
    - masklinn 5y ago
      > Hijacking was different in those days. It was often a means of political protest or transportation. Indeed, that was one of the major shocks (and changes brought by) 9/11: before that in the case of highjacking you wanted to remain calm because you were at relatively little risk of harm, in the early 70s highjacking were a weekly occurrence and treated as inconvenience. Jacking gradually went down through the 80s as security screenings were added. The danger was in bombings and there was not much you could do as a passenger.
  - ashtonkem 5y ago
    I think you might be overestimating the amount of planning that went into 1970s hijackings. One person hijacked a plane with nothing more than a can of bug spray and a lighter. Another was an ex-Green Beret who came to believe that he was at the center of a CIA plot to Assassinate Castro alone. For the most part, hijackings in the 1970s are best described as "clown shoes shit".
CoryAlexMartin 5y ago
Yeah pitchers in general seem to have lost command of the ball, based on the Indians games I've been watching lately. Shane Bieber (AL 2020 Cy Young winner) gave up an uncharacteristically high number of hits today. I've seen pitchers on both teams throw balls several feet above the strike zone. Austin Hedges got hit in the head while at bat the other day. I assume we'll see a big drop in performance for the time being and a gradual increase in performance as pitchers relearn muscle memory for throwing balls without sticky stuff.
- CoryAlexMartin 5y ago
  Shane Bieber is now out with a shoulder strain, so that may explain most of his uncharacteristic performance. I still stand by my general observations though.
mabbo 5y ago
> He publicly denounced use of “sticky stuff” in 2017 and 2018 and tweeted about how much more rpm his pitches would get when he experimented with it. When nothing came of this his spin rate increased dramatically and he won the Cy Young award in 2020. I kind of feel for the guy. He tried to do the right thing and shine a spotlight on this issue. No one cared, no one did anything. So now he's got a 9-figure 3-year deal instead. In his shoes, I'd spend a lot of effort collecting evidence that his coaches and managers are fully aware of what he's doing.

ashtonkem 5y ago

> So the threat of enforcement does seem to be having an impact, at least in the short term. This is how the US solved the hijacking problem in the 1970s; threat to do occasional random searches of passengers. Apparently airport security reported finding abandoned firearms outside in the bushes whenever they put up the “passengers may be searched” signs.

TwoBit 5y ago
Why would a hijacker abandon weapons? If their goal was hijacking and they found they were to be searched then why even board the plane? Just go back home with your weapon.
- Spooky23 5y ago
  Hijacking was different in those days. It was often a means of political protest or transportation. Another thing to consider is non-hijackers carrying guns for their own reasons. It was fairly common for business travelers to carry a lot of cash, and carry a gun while doing so.
  - masklinn 5y ago
    > Hijacking was different in those days. It was often a means of political protest or transportation. Indeed, that was one of the major shocks (and changes brought by) 9/11: before that in the case of highjacking you wanted to remain calm because you were at relatively little risk of harm, in the early 70s highjacking were a weekly occurrence and treated as inconvenience. Jacking gradually went down through the 80s as security screenings were added. The danger was in bombings and there was not much you could do as a passenger.
- ashtonkem 5y ago
  I think you might be overestimating the amount of planning that went into 1970s hijackings. One person hijacked a plane with nothing more than a can of bug spray and a lighter. Another was an ex-Green Beret who came to believe that he was at the center of a CIA plot to Assassinate Castro alone. For the most part, hijackings in the 1970s are best described as "clown shoes shit".

CoryAlexMartin 5y ago

Yeah pitchers in general seem to have lost command of the ball, based on the Indians games I've been watching lately. Shane Bieber (AL 2020 Cy Young winner) gave up an uncharacteristically high number of hits today. I've seen pitchers on both teams throw balls several feet above the strike zone. Austin Hedges got hit in the head while at bat the other day. I assume we'll see a big drop in performance for the time being and a gradual increase in performance as pitchers relearn muscle memory for throwing balls without sticky stuff.

CoryAlexMartin 5y ago
Shane Bieber is now out with a shoulder strain, so that may explain most of his uncharacteristic performance. I still stand by my general observations though.

mabbo 5y ago

> He publicly denounced use of “sticky stuff” in 2017 and 2018 and tweeted about how much more rpm his pitches would get when he experimented with it. When nothing came of this his spin rate increased dramatically and he won the Cy Young award in 2020. I kind of feel for the guy. He tried to do the right thing and shine a spotlight on this issue. No one cared, no one did anything. So now he's got a 9-figure 3-year deal instead. In his shoes, I'd spend a lot of effort collecting evidence that his coaches and managers are fully aware of what he's doing.