Aaron Boone expects crackdown on sticky substances soon

Aaron Boone expects Major League Baseball’s crackdown on pitchers using illegal sticky substances to ramp up in the near future.

"I've had enough conversations to know that something is definitely coming," Boone said Sunday before the Yankees hosted the Red Sox. "Hopefully we're in a good position to deal with whatever's coming."

The topic of pitchers trying to get a better grip and put more spin on their pitches has been getting a lot of attention, especially after an upcoming Yankees foe dragged Gerrit Cole into the middle of the issue.

On Friday, Minnesota Twins third baseman Josh Donaldson told The Athletic: "If you want to clean the game up — because to me, this is going to be the next steroids of baseball ordeal, because it is cheating and it is performance-enhancing — the only way they get it through and to get it out of the game is if they get checked every half-inning. Is it coincidence that Gerrit Cole’s spin rate numbers went down [Thursday] after four minor-leaguers got suspended for 10 games [for doctoring baseballs]? Is that possible? I don’t know. Maybe. At the same time, with this situation, they’ve let guys do it."

The Yankees are scheduled to visit the Twins for a three-game series beginning Tuesday. Cole is scheduled to pitch on Wednesday.

Reporters have not had the opportunity to ask Cole about Donaldson’s comments. The first opportunity likely will come on Tuesday when he appears on a regularly scheduled Zoom news conference the day before his start.

Asked what he made of Donaldson’s comments, Boone said: "I don't make much of it. I think Gerrit — as well as all of our staff members — I believe are mostly aboveboard and will be able to handle this situation in the right kind of way. And it's not going to affect the kind of pitcher they are."

Boone said he is preparing for a crackdown, which would include umpires checking the uniforms and caps of pitchers to see if they have any illegal goo.

"I’ve been told — a little bit vague — but that something’s coming," Boone said. "Whether that’s umpires starting to enforce things, checks . . . I guess it’s a little unclear and a little vague, but I definitely think something’s coming that’s going to start to really be more of a strict enforcement on certain things.

"I don't know much about this kind of stuff. We, as a staff, certainly don't support this kind of thing and don't get involved in this kind of thing and don't endorse this kind of thing. But as someone that's not overly, frankly, educated on it and as a non-pitcher, I don't really totally understand, but it does seem like it's gone to a level that's too far . . . I do think there's probably a line that has been crossed by many."

This isn’t the first time allegations of using sticky stuff have been made against Cole. In Jan. 8, he was mentioned in a filing for a lawsuit brought by former Los Angeles Angels clubhouse manager Brian "Bubba" Harkins, who claimed he was fired because he supplied illegal ball-doctoring substances to pitchers.

In the case — which was dismissed by an Orange County Superior Court judge on Jan. 25 — Cole was alleged to have sent a text to Harkins on Jan. 17, 2019, that read: "Hey Bubba, it’s Gerrit Cole, I was wondering if you could help me out with this sticky situation. We don’t see you until May, but we have some road games in April that are in cold weather places. The stuff I had last year seizes up when it gets cold."

Cole, when asked at spring training in March about the filing in the lawsuit, said: "Probably not a whole lot of good coming from diving into that. I probably should leave it alone."

By Anthony Rieber

anthony.rieber@newsday.comAnthonyRieber

Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.