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Dodgers: Giants Broadcaster Says LA Has Been Impacted By Crackdown on Sticky Stuff Not SF

All of the talk at the beginning of summer around Major League Baseball was surrounding pitchers using foreign substances to enhance their grip to increase spin-rates. With the league-wide batting average plummeting to a 52-year low, it was clear that MLB had to do something to level the playing field between pitchers and hitters.

First, the league sent a memo to all 30 clubs informing them of the drastic changes that were being implemented to police pitchers and prevent them from applying substances like pine tar, Pelican Grip, Spider Tack and a variety of other concoctions hurlers have been using to doctor baseballs. Then on June 21st, MLB introduced new measures that called for umpires to periodically check pitchers for substances throughout the game. Since then, spin rates have gone down and offense has steadily increased across the board.



However, while some team’s overall pitching has declined since the crackdown, the Dodgers have seen two of their frontline starters post better numbers in Julio Urias and Walker Buehler.

Giants Broadcaster Calls Out Dodgers

Overall, the Dodgers’ arms have posted the lowest team ERA since the crackdown at 2.66. Well, don’t tell that to Giants play-by-play broadcaster, Dave Flemming, who boldly claimed that MLB’s crackdown on foreign substances negatively impacted the Dodgers season and not the Giants.

We discuss Dave Flemming’s take and dive into the number to debunk his bold claims.

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Doug McKain

Doug McKain is a lifelong Dodger fan and hosts Dodgers Nation’s “DNpostgame” show online. He also hosts Dodgers DougOut and the LA Sports Report on YouTube. DMAC is also a rabid Lakers fan, and lover of all Los Angeles sports.

22 Comments

    1. No they just have a cheating system going on. There’s no other way it’s possible to never have a slump in an mlb season. They need to be exposed before it’s too late

  1. luckily we got Scherzer to replace sticky Bauer. Dodgers can’t lose with Scherzer on the bump. Dodgers will be fine whether they end up hosting the WC or won the division

    1. Couple of pitchers I’d rather not face in a one game WC game. Snell if he’s healthy and if the Padres remove their heads from………and Wainwright, who has also been a tough task.
      Would have to be Scherzer, but the way our offense hibernates, still waiting for the Gnats hiccup

  2. I don’t want to believe this is true. That said, I’d like to see the stats that are actually relevant in this issue, namely spin rate and velocity. ERA & WAR simply aren’t the most relevant statistics with regards to Flemming’s comments.

  3. You got me thinking, so I started Googling, and found a solid article regarding the change in spin rates after the crackdown. It’s titled, “The Pitchers Whose Spin Rates Fell Most After a Crackdown on Sticky Substances”, for anyone interested. Unfortunately, it comes closer to backing up Flemming, than not. And it also points to a gaping hole that no one wants to talk about – Trevor Bauer.

    1. Bauer hasn’t been relevant since he had to take leave a few months ago. That means that there isn’t enough data to really delve too deeply into his spin rate before and after the crack down. Since the umps didn’t find anything suspicious on Bauer when they did their checks throughout the games Bauer pitched, you can’t say he was cheating at anytime he pitched unless you’re just one of those people who condemn someone because you believe he’s guilty without proof.

  4. When it comes to cheating, nobody did it like Barry Bonds. Except for the entire Astros team.

    1. To this day, The Giants announcers, fans and organization blatantly exult and celebrate Bonds, ‘roids and all, at every opportunity. This Giants season has been unbelievable, and what is most amazing is the veteran players’ synchronous resurgence of home run and power hitting…but I digress…did Fleming’s (more than likely banal) comments also address the use of foreign substances as it pertains to the former Dodgers’ pitchers now playing for the Giants?

  5. Flemming is full of poo poo. The Dodgers stats blow him out of the boat and into McCovey Cove. Then there’s “Roid Rager” Barry Bonds…

  6. Flemming is just being a Giant. You know, they won three WS championships from 2010-14, yet they still have an inferiority complex when it comes to the Dodgers. The broadcasters still act like little kids when they talk about the Dodgers. Jon Miller is hilarious. He became irrelevant about a decade ago and despite all of the accolades he received throughout his career, he still acts like an eight year old child when he talks about the Dodgers. No matter how successful the Giants are, they know in the back of their little minds that they are still second fiddle to the Dodgers, and always will be.

  7. Yeah the Dodgers pitching has been the BEST in baseball, and the Vagiants know it. Flemming is just another Homer Vagiants lover that must have been turned down any Dodger broadcasting opportunity. Who ever said the Vagiants are on roids SPOT ON!!! They have 5 old guys not wearing down, all only getting stronger and Bonds has been hanging around the team again. The KINGS of JUICE!!!!!!!!! Bonds and the Vagiants allowing him to make a mockery of Baseball and keep on with his lies can all go to baseball purgatory!!!!

  8. Of course, the Giants know that the Dodgers’ have the best (overall) pitching and that is why they fall all over themselves to acquire former Dodgers’ pitchers! Was Flemming also referencing them in his comments? Giants announcers, fans, and the organization, itself, continue to exalt and celebrate Bonds, steroids and all, at every given opportunity. It does, in fact, make a mockery of baseball.

    Could be that the reason no one, including baseball analysts, anticipated this phenomenal Giants’ regular season is because it defies logic, and what makes even less sense is the Giants’ veteran players’ sychronous resurgence of home run and power hitting… so, any Giants’ announcer trying to call out the Dodgers, or any other team for that matter, about the alleged use of “foreign substances” may want to tread lightly to avoid being called hypocrites.

  9. Astros had the same tactic going into the 2017 World Series. Anyone else remember them telling the media they were “worried” the Dodgers were cheating? And look what happened..

    Same tactic is used in politics, accuse the other guy of cheating so everyone isn’t paying attention to what your doing.

  10. Statistics are amazing! You can’t get away from facts. Dodger pitching staff has continued to improve as the statistics demonstrate.
    It’s amazing how especially in this country people say things that are incredibly wrong and do not check their facts or correct their statements when proven wrong.

  11. Giant broadcaster was saying how the Giants are winning because they are a Blue Collar team, and basically the Dodgers are Hollywood. Let’s review starting at first base. Max, a throw away by the A’s. Thank you, A’s. Trea, not here long enough for the Hollywood label. Pure baseball Heart all the way. Cory, a quite Southern Boy, not Hollywood. Justin, another throw away by the Mets. Thank you Mets. Austin, Hollywood… Really?!? Will, Pure baseball Heart, and only getting better, (and too sweet!). Mookie, always practicing to get better. Hollywood, doesn’t fit in to a hard working player like Mookie. AJ… Oh we miss you soo much. Chris… More heart than any Giant… Surf’s up, not Hollywood Blvd. Clayton, Max, Walker, Julio, Joe, Kenley, the whole Bull Pen, Hollywood?!? Don’t see it. Cody… Not sure. Just stay focused, Boys in Blue, and know we have your back…

    1. “Giant broadcaster was saying how the Giants are winning because they are a Blue Collar team, and basically the Dodgers are Hollywood. ”

      The Giants are a bunch of young male millionaire athletes.
      The Dogers are a bunch of young male millionaire athletes, with a different uniform

  12. Bonds…Giant Head, Backne, Roid Rage…all confirmed by his girlfriend… should be barred from ANY affiliation with MLB or associated teams, and all stats removed from MLB. Same for A-Fraud, another skid mark on MLB,’s underwear who proves ESPN is the stupidest corporation in existence.

    Baseball is worried about its image, yet allows proven cheaters and women beaters like Bauer to hang around and tarnish baseball’s image Shame on the hypocrites running it.

  13. Come on folks, Roids are still alive, spin rate is creeping back up(umpires arent even really checking anymore, they seem to be chatting with pitchers more than checking anything). You arent going to convince me that only 2 pitchers tried sticky substances since the crackdown LOL………..Ivan Rodriguez use so many steriods he looked like a linebacker, then they started checking and he decided he wanted to be more flexible(HE IS IN THE HALL OF FAME ARGGG). LOL Um can anyone say Nelson Cruz isnt using steriods without laughing! After the roids debacle was uncovered everyone in baseball said we should have known, you just can’t hit that many home runs at that age unless your cheating, ummmm Big Pappi, baseball doesnt want to admit that money drives the game, and it us currently driving it into the ground. Yes absolutely no one in baseball with have these discussions. Has anyone ever heard an announcer even mention steroids. They have been given directives to not talk about it, and baseball says its trying to clean it up. Where is all the data that shows that spin rate is not limbing back up as the year goes on. Where is that study, you think any pitcher is going to get removed from the playoffs…..LOL JUST FOLLOW THE MONEY MONEY MONEY

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