Michael Pineda, prideless of the Yankees
When a Major League Baseball pitcher like Michael Pineda of the New York Yankees performs the pine tar cheat over and over again 鈥� in a manner so obvious and with consequences so minimal 鈥� young fans get is that it鈥檚 OK to be a bad sport as long as you鈥檙e famous or good at what you do.
Baseball as a game is loved for its simplicity 鈥� and the rules for Major League Baseball outline clearly what it takes to keep your nose 鈥� or neck, in Mr. Pineda鈥檚 case 鈥� clean.
For the pitcher, the use of rosin (that white powder often seen pluming above the pitcher鈥檚 mound) is permitted.
However, leaves no room for ambiguity on other goop: 鈥淭he pitcher shall not apply a foreign substance of any kind to the ball.鈥�
As former Yankee Yogi Berra once said, "You can observe a lot just by watching.鈥�
Anybody looking at Pineda could see the glistening streaks of sticky greenish-brown goo on his neck.
According to multiple media reports, Pineda has used pine tar in more than one game by slathering it on his neck so he could casually run his fingertips across it and thus have better traction. This is an obvious no-no.
As a parent, it鈥檚 frustrating to see the images from Fenway Park of Pineda with a pine tar hickie on his neck, as kids witness yet another flagrant cheat by this pitcher. A cheat that is unlikely to result in significant punishment.
According to , when Pineda faced the Red Sox in New York on April 10, cameras clearly showed pine tar on the palm of his right hand, however the Red Sox聽, and the next day Major League Baseball announced Pineda would not be disciplined, but that the issue would be discussed with the Yankees.
described Yankees Manager Joe Girardi reaction to Wednesday鈥檚 incident as, 鈥渓ooking as irked and hapless as a man trying to untangle the Christmas lights, losing a wrestling match with a small remote-controlled camera.鈥�
"Just a bump in the road," Girardi told SI as he, according to the report, 鈥渢ried desperately to close the book on the poor judgment of the man now forever known as Michael Pine-tar.鈥�
I think we need to keep this book open, or at least put a more significant marker into this page of MLB history.
In my opinion, Pineda should be suspended for a significant number of games, and perform community service with kids, the biggest group of fans he has let down by cheating.
I realize cheating and being crafty seems like an ingrained part of the sport, since it is documented throughout baseball history. However, the only chance we have of weeding the cheaters from the field and having a good clean all-American game to watch with our kids is to crack-down on cheating, rather than taking the 鈥渂oys will be boys鈥� attitude.
Since the beginning, there have been spitballs, mud balls, scuff balls, and more that have been banned through baseball鈥檚 history. Pine tar measures up to the best of old-fashioned cheats that should have no place in today鈥檚 game.
I鈥檓 a native New Yorker and a Yankees fan ever since my father took me to a game at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx when I was age 4.
Before we ever went to the game, my father and I watched the old black and white film 鈥溾�� about Lou Gehrig, starring Gary Cooper.聽
Today, I am not seeing any pride in my home team or any of MLB. Telling kids to be good sports and then letting cheaters openly ignore the rules is not the kind of curveball we need to keep throwing at children.
