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MN Twins Pitcher Blames Injury on Bad Baseballs
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- MN Twins Pitcher Blames Injury on Bad Baseballs
IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The Minnesota Twins have suffered their fair share of pitching injuries this season. This week's victim was Bailey Ober , whose bout with right elbow inflammation (mild right flexor strain) landed him on the injured list on May 31.
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Of course Ober's performance of late ( 5.97 ERA in 5 starts during May ) leaves plenty to be desired. Could his issues in that time stem from the previously undiagnosed injury? Well, maybe the last two.
Ober's last start was in Pittsburgh on May 30. He gave up 7 earned runs on 12 hits in 4.2 BRUTAL innings pitched. However, in a recent interview, Bailey Ober pinpointed the injury to one week prior — during a rain-soaked start on May 24 @ Fenway against the Red Sox .
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The weather conditions that day in Boston were suboptimal, as it poured throughout the contest. That will happen, though, when you play baseball nearly every day. That rainy Sunday afternoon, Ober claims, was different than starts he's had in the past, with similar weather.
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Bailey Ober blames injury on wet baseballs
Credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
According to Ober, the baseballs used in that game were absolutely brutal, accusing Red Sox staff of not properly rubbing them down, which he says created major grip issues.
The 30-year-old righty had a decent day in Boston, during the start in question. He didn't walk any Red Sox batters, throwing 59 strikes on 82 total pitches. He allowed 4 runs (mostly on 2 HR) on 7 hits and added 3 strikeouts.
However, Bailey Ober claims that it was the way way he was forced to grip the slippery baseballs, that rainy afternoon at Fenway, which caused his elbow inflammation and an eventual IL trip one start later.
The Twins righthander, diagnosed with a mild right flexor strain, described the quality of baseballs used during his start in Boston as the worst in his six-year career. The problem, he said, was the slickness of the baseballs, like they were new out of their packaging.
"I haven't dealt with poorly rubbed up baseballs to that extent ever," Ober said. "The only way to be able to throw slick baseballs is to grip them harder, so you can execute your pitches. If not, you're not going to know where the ball is going, especially with breaking pitches."
Ober wasn't alone in saying the conditions were terrible either. Former Twins starter Sonny Gray , who pitched that day for the Red Sox called the baseballs , "Brutal. Brutal. Brutal. Absolutely brutal. It is what it is. It was brutal for everyone."
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Another former Twins-turned-Red Sox pitcher, Danny Coulombe , said after the game that, "those balls sucked."
League, umpires show no sympathy for Ober
Thus, immediately after the game, Bailey lodge an official complaint to the league, as did MN Twins manager Derek Shelton. So, the MLB investigated the baseballs used that day.
Unfortunately, the findings from that investigation did not yield the results Ober was looking for. Instead, the league's report found that the balls in Boston on May 24 were "consistent with the league's standards", according to Bobby Nightengale (Star Tribune) .
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During the game, Ober even tried asking the umpires what was going on. Just like his complaint after. That too fell on deaf ears.
"I talked to the umpires at some point during the game when they were fixing the mound. I said, 'What do we got with these baseballs?' [Plate umpire Will Little] basically just said you can keep throwing them out if you want. I said, 'Well, every single one is the same way. I'm not going to get a better ball.' He didn't have anything else, really, to say after that."
Ober couldn't pinpoint a specific point during that Red Sox game that something happened with his elbow, and clearly tried to pitch through pain his next start, which was a complete disaster.
There's no ligament damage for Ober, who's expected to be on the shelf for approximately two weeks, before he starts to ramp back up.
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