Major League Baseball has promised to crack down on pitchers using foreign substances, and it appears it's making actual progress toward doing so.
The league has yet to indicate how it plans to identify and punish any use of foreign substance, but the process going on behind closed doors sounds remarkably thorough. According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, the league has essentially built scouting reports on pitchers, sometimes based on tips from opponents, noting where the pitcher might be keeping the substance.
Olney also adds that MLB is considering a penalty of 10 days without pay for those who are violating the rules.
MLB has insisted that enforcement is coming. Some players are certainly skeptical of this given how long it’s gone on without any repercussions, but this certainly indicates a level of seriousness that has not previously existed.
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