Zack Britton hated what he saw Tuesday night.
The implementation of Major League Baseball’s new rule to regularly check pitchers for foreign substances led to players angrily stripping on the field, Phillies manager Joe Girardi and Nationals ace Max Scherzer yelling back and forth at each other after Girardi initiated a mid-inning check of Scherzer and games being paused as umpires checked players.
“I just think the optics of it are so bad for baseball,” Britton said Wednesday before the Yankees hosted the Royals. “We’re talking about that, we’re not talking about Wander Franco’s debut, we’re not talking about how well Gerrit [Cole] threw and how well Max Scherzer threw, and all this other stuff around the game. We’re talking about guys getting checked on the field, guys dropping their pants on the field, guys throwing their belts off. I just think the optics are absolutely embarrassing for our game.”
Britton, the Yankees’ union representative and a left-handed reliever, said there have been no discussions between the Players Association and MLB for a few weeks about the new enforcement policy, since it was announced on June 15. Britton would like to see the two sides discuss changes, but as of now that has yet to happen. According to Britton, suggestions from the MLBPA weren’t taken into account.
“I don’t have any issues with trying to clean up the game and level the playing field,” he said. “I think there’s a better way, and we’d be willing to sit down and talk about that, but we haven’t been engaged from my knowledge.”
Britton believes commissioner Rob Manfred owes it to players and fans to address the issue, in particular why policing this rule needed to happen in late June. Manfred hasn’t held a press conference since February 2020, while players and managers have to address this sudden change on a daily basis.
“I’d love to hear Manfred answer questions and not just players,” Britton said. “If you’re the head of a sport, I think part of the job description is to answer the questions and speak to the media occasionally. You see it throughout the other sports. It’s frustrating for the players that we haven’t heard from him yet.”
In an interview with the Athletic on Wednesday, Manfred said he expects to get back to his regular routine of availability this year and noted MLB consultant Theo Epstein has been available to discuss the matter. Manfred believes the start of umpires inspecting pitchers has gone “very well,” referring to no player ejections and their cooperation. Additionally, the data suggests the enforcement has led to fewer pitchers using the sticky substances, the commissioner believes.
“I understand the incident in Philadelphia was less than ideal, but that was one incident,” Manfred said.
Britton’s problem isn’t the rule now being enforced. He gets that something had to be done, believing it had gone too far with pitchers using these substances to add spin and movement. But he thinks it isn’t being done properly. For one thing, MLB added this enforcement in the middle of the season, though Manfred said a memo was sent out in March that warned of discipline if changes weren’t made. Also, pitchers are getting checked out in the open, captured on television and in front of fans.
“We can get checked in the bullpen prior to entering the game. Guys can get checked in the dugout away from cameras, away from fans,” Britton said. “I just think the optics looked awful last night. As somebody who loves the game, I was watching other teams, and I was embarrassed. I was embarrassed because that’s what our game looks like right now. … I think getting it off the field would look a lot cleaner.
“If I’m a young kid at a game and I’m asking my dad, ‘Hey, what’s going on? Why are they getting checked?’ What’s he going to say? ‘Well, they think everyone is cheating.’ I mean, is that what we want the game to be about? We’re assuming you’re cheating.”
While this new plan of enforcement is only a few days old, and several players have spoken out against it already, it doesn’t seem like Manfred is planning any changes.
“As of right now, I’m comfortable with the rule the way it is,” the commissioner said.
