Murray Wood: Who's hot... and who's not
Every Friday, Murray Wood takes a look back at the week's news and decides who's hot... and who's not. This week's list ...
Major League Baseball catchers are busy cleaning up the evidence.
They’re likely washing pine tar off their chest protectors, taking the sandpaper out of their gloves and throwing away the Vaseline they slather onto various parts of their bodies.
Blame it on Yadier Molina.
The St. Louis Cardinals catcher, while playing against the Chicago Cubs, smothered a wild pitch that bounced onto his protector. And somehow stuck there.
When the ball was torn off, part of it remained on Molina’s vest. An 8-time Gold Glove catcher, Molina’s stickiness theoretically helps him corral loose baseballs.
His tactics can also help pitchers, who are sometimes searched for foreign objects that help them doctor the baseball so they can get a better grip.
No player is allowed to tamper with the baseball.
Umpires don’t usually check the catchers to see if they’re cheating.
But they will now.
