Controversy filled the lungs of the World Series faster than Kenny Rogers could wash his hands. Cameras found a foreign substance on the throwing hand of the Detroit Tigers’ starting pitcher on Sunday night. Rogers’ left hand showed similar marks in the AL Division Series and Championship Series. The travel day, after the Detroit Tigers’ 3-1 victory leveled them with the St. Louis Cardinals at one game each in the Series, provided ample time for the debates to brew.
I am not a Tigers fan but have been supporting them this postseason. How could anyone who isn’t from St. Louis not be rooting for the surprising Tigers? Rogers’ dirty hand, though, made me begin to question my support of possible cheaters. I couldn’t let my baseball morals deteriorate.
In my mind, the substance on Rogers’ hand was not dirt as he claims. I have eyes, and the HDTV was so clear I could have taken Rogers’ fingerprints. The substance was golden brown and smooth like caramel, honey or, um, pine tar. Hardly a “clump of dirt.” Secondly, Rogers claims he didn’t notice the “dirt” at first. Give me a break. It’s his pitching hand. The only way he wouldn’t notice it would be if he knew about it and wanted it there.
Rogers also says that he rubs up baseballs before games with dirt and spit and that’s where the mark probably came from. I find it quite a coincidence that the same mark made a star appearance in all of Rogers’ playoff starts. Finally, Rogers, the umpires and both coaches gave absurdly different explanations after the game. Nothing seemed to add up. People were hiding something.
Despite my belief that Rogers had more than dirt on his hand, I still came to the conclusion that I can continue cheering for Detroit. From what I understand, pine tar on a pitchers’ throwing hand, though against the rules, is not that big of a deal. It simply allows the pitcher to get a better grip on the ball, particularly in cold weather such as Detroit’s. A pitcher cannot get crazy movement on his pitches with pine tar, as he could by scuffing the ball up with sandpaper.
Another point to remember is that once Rogers cleaned off his hand after the first inning, the Cards didn’t exactly hit him like a punching bag. He continued to dominate the St. Louis lineup for seven more innings, allowing only one more hit. “Dirt” or not, Rogers has been straight-up impressive in the postseason.
So all of you out there can continue jumping on the Tigers bandwagon like me this October, worry-free. If Detroit wins the Series, their trophy should not be tainted by some tar on Rogers’ hand. Let’s just hope that we get to see a Game 6 when Rogers is scheduled to start again. You can be sure there will be no smudges on his hand then; Rogers would be a fool to so much as touch any dirt in the next few days.
