MLB Steps in and Makes It Official: Pitchers Can Use Cheat Sheets
Phillies reliever Austin Davis had a cheat sheet he made on the opposing batters confiscated by umpire Joe West in Saturday’s game against the Cubs.
As it turned out, West had it wrong — Austin had every right to have a cheat sheet, Major League Baseball’s league office confirmed Sunday.
Austin Davis getting his notes taken away by Joe West. 😐📒 pic.twitter.com/TvBkvWIpUL
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) September 2, 2018
Which opens up a new can of worms: Should pitchers be allowed to use cheat sheets?
Update: Teams have been informed that players can use reference cards as long as they do not delay the game. Austin Davis’ card did not violate 6.03(c)(7). https://t.co/iIVALY9DSh
— Todd Zolecki (@ToddZolecki) September 2, 2018
It all happened during the Cubs 7-1 win over the Phillies on Saturday. Davis came on in the eighth inning and dug into his back pocket to consult a card he created with tips on how to face certain batters.
West, the third base umpire, saw him reading the card and immediately intervened. He confiscated the card, citing Rule 6.02(c)(7), which states that the pitcher shall not have on his person, or in his possession, any foreign substance.
The rule was designed to apply balms, pine tar or other substances that pitchers have been known to use to make the ball move better, and now MLB says it doesn’t apply to cheat sheets.
Davis said it’s not the first time he’s used a card while pitching
“Our analytics department works really, really hard to come up with this stuff for us, and I want to use it because they work all day to come up with stuff to help get guys out. And if I have an answer to get a guy out, I want to know what that is,” Davis said, reported ESPN.
“This is something I create. We have our meeting where we go over the hitters. I take that information and put it on a card so I don’t have to try and memorize it and use my mental energy to get ready for the game,” he said. “Then I just take a glance and go.”
West called the league offices after the game to report the incident.
“I saw him take it out and I went, `What the heck is that?” West said, reported ESPN. “I didn’t want to throw him out. I know it’s foreign, but he’s not trying to cheat. Maybe he’s trying to get an advantage because he’s reading the scouting report, but it wasn’t pine tar, it wasn’t an emery board, it wasn’t whatever.”
https://twitter.com/riptalkinsports/status/1036579635058946048
“In the long run, maybe they’ll let him [have the card]. Right now, my hands are tied until they say yes or no. Right now, until the office says it’s OK to carry this, he can’t do it,” West added.
League officials came back Sunday with their answer, saying it’s legal for Davis or any other pitcher to consult a cheat sheet as long as it doesn’t delay the game, reported MLB.com.
“I think it’s great that our pitchers are able to have their game plans on them,” Phillies manager Gabe Kapler said, reported MLB.com. “I think it takes a lot of mental focus, takes a lot of bandwidth to get out the best hitters in baseball, and when you can just take a little of that off your mind and put it on a card, I think that’s helpful for pitchers and good for baseball.”
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