Some pretty significant bombshells were dropped on the MLB as it’s being reported that a number of big-name pitchers have been accused of doctoring baseballs “for years” according to California state court filings this past Thursday.
Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer were two of the biggest names mentioned in the filing stemming back to their time with the Tigers and their connection with former Detroit closer Troy Percival in 2005.
According to Tony Paul of the Detroit News, Percival was the one who allegedly introduced the Tigers pitching staff to a grip concoction engineered and widely distributed by a fired Angels staffer Brian Harkins. Prior to signing a two-year deal with the Tigers just before the 2005 season, Percival was a longtime Angels closer and one of the best during the 90s and early 2000s.
Former Tigers ace Justin Verlander is among several major-league pitchers who have been accused of using a grip concoction engineered and widely distributed by a fired Los Angeles Angels staffer.
Several Tigers pitchers allegedly began inquiring about the so-called “sticky stuff” as far back as 2005, after being told about it by new Tiger and longtime Angels closer Troy Percival, according to filings in California state court Thursday.
That year, 2005, was the rookie season for Verlander, who has been using the foreign substance “for years,” according to the former Angels employee.
“Tiger players visiting the Angels clubhouse began asking me to prepare it for them and that Percival told them I knew how,” Brian Harkins, the fired Angeles employee, wrote in a declaration as part of his lawsuit against the Angels and Major League Baseball.
“I did so as a courtesy. After all, my job was hospitality for visiting players.”
Harkins first joined the Angels as a batboy in 1981 and became visiting clubhouse manager in 1990. It was a job he held until March 3, 2020.
The Angels fired Harkins shortly after MLB sent notice to teams that pitchers doctoring baseballs was illegal. That memo went out shortly after the investigation into the Houston Astros’ sign stealing, which rocked the baseball world last offseason.
Detroit News
Verlander hasn’t commented on the allegations or the court filings, Hawkins though mentioned that Verlander seemingly found justification in the action because “the league has let this go on for 100 years”. Furthermore, Verlander apparently wanted to stand up for Harkins after the shit hit the fan for the former Angels staffer “feels with the scrutiny that their team is under it will be very difficult.” Paul also makes mention in his Detroit News article that Hawkins’ notes point to Verlander suggesting that the Angels may be “shook up” after the death of pitcher Tyler Skaggs in 2019. Skaggs was found to have fentanyl and oxycodone in his system upon his death, substances that were allegedly distributed by another Angels’ staffer.
Verlander further had conversations with Harkins via text message and phone conversations as late as March of last year.
“Bubba, it’s JV,” two-time Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander said in a March 6, 2020 text message to Harkins according to court filings obtained by USA TODAY Sports. “Firstly, I’m so sorry to hear about this. Please give me a shout whenever you can.”
In a subsequent phone conversation, Harkins recounts Verlander confirming that “the league has let this go on for 100 years,” that it was “(expletive)” that Harkins’ name was circulated in the media and reiterated a longstanding complaint that baseballs are wound too tightly.
He also said MLB had learned teams “hired chemists” and commissioned studies “to come up with stuff more advanced to create spin rate,” using that proprietary information to lure free-agent pitchers.
Detroit Free Press
After his time in Detroit, Verlander went on to win a World Series with the Astros in 2017 which was eventually widely scrutinized after it was revealed that Houston implemented one of the most intricate cheating scandals in Major League Baseball history. Although Verlander was never directly implicated in the scandal, he was a teammate of Gerrit Cole during this time who was also mentioned by Harkins in the filing.
“Hey Bubba, it’s Gerrit Cole,” the text reads. “I was wondering if you could help me out with this sticky situation [winky face emoji]. 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 …”
Justin Verlander, who was then Cole’s teammate in Houston, is also mentioned in Harkin’s filings.
Harkins claims that Verlander told him MLB began cracking down on foreign substances upon discovering that some teams were using chemists to come up with a substance to maximize spin rate.
Mlive.com
In addition to Cole, Verlander, and Scherzer, Harkins also mentions other pitchers who allegedly used the substance including Felix Hernandez, Corey Kluber, and Adam Wainwright among others as well as other former Tigers Edwin Jackson and Joba Chamberlain.
Free agent pitcher Trevor Bauer had previously sounded off on how foreign substances used on balls can greatly improve the spin rate and in turn pitcher performance.
