The Mets came out in unanimous support of Jacob deGrom on Twitter when an anonymous user posted a video of him going to his belt before a pitch and then touching his glove.
In the tweet, @DoyersDave wrote: “Jacob Decheats or since it’s not [Trevor] Bauer or [Gerrit] Cole, we don’t care? Lol.”
Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom. Getty ImagesIt was a reference to the belief that pitchers are using sticky substances on balls to add to their high spin rates, movement and success. Major League Baseball is reportedly planning to ramp up its inspection of doctored baseballs, allowing umpires to check pitchers several times per game and ban the use of these substances.
Catcher Tomas Nido was the first Met to respond, writing, “I promise you he doesn’t use anything. If he did they would be lucky to even foul tip the ball cc: @McCannon33.”
Fellow catcher James McCann, starting pitchers Marcus Stroman and Taijuan Walker, relief pitcher Trevor May and outfielder Kevin Pillar had similar tweets in support of deGrom, who is in the midst of an unfathomably dominant season with a 0.62 ERA and 93 strikeouts in 58 innings. That ERA is the lowest in MLB history through nine starts.
Cole and Bauer had reduced spin rates in their most recent starts — Cole was down roughly 6 percent and Bauer 10 percent — leading Twins slugger Josh Donaldson to question whether the Yankees’ ace sluggish outing last Thursday was the result of him not using foreign substances on the ball. The two will meet this week in Minnesota.
“Is it a coincidence that Gerrit Cole’s spin rate numbers went down [Thursday] after four minor leaguers got suspended for 10 games?” Donaldson told reporters. “Is that possible? I don’t know. Maybe. At the same time, with this situation, they’ve let guys do it.”
When asked about those comments, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said: “Gerrit as well of our staff members, I believe, are mostly above board, and they’ll be able to handle the situation in the right kind of way, and it’s not going to affect the kind of pitchers they are.”
DeGrom, meanwhile, actually saw his spin rate slightly increase in Saturday’s performance against the Padres when he threw seven shutout innings. On the season, deGrom’s four-seam fastball averages 2,425 rpms and his slider averages 2,600 rpms. Saturday, the fastball averaged 2,520 rpms and the slider averaged 2,638 rpms. Furthermore, the spin rates on deGrom’s pitches have only increased at incremental rates in recent years.
“I’d bet my paycheck on it that he doesn’t use anything,” Pillar tweeted. “He might be from a different planet though cc:@StevenACohen2.”



