‘Absolutely Not': Alonso Slams MLB for Crackdown

"Pete, do you think the MLB is doing the right thing with cracking down on pitchers using sticky substances?"

"Absolutely not."

Pete Alonso has spoken, and the Polar Bear has come out against Major League Baseball in their on-going fight against pitchers using substances that help them grip, and spin, a baseball.

In listening to his answer to the question, it's hard to disagree with him, either.

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Here's the press conference clip with Alonso's answer:

Alonso makes a number of compelling arguments in this clip, including this one that jumped out to me...

"Let them use it, because for me, I step in the box every single day, and I see guys throwing harder and harder. I don't want 99 [MPH] slipping out of someone's hand because they don't have enough feel for it." - Pete Alonso

He also goes DIRECTLY at Major League Baseball, alleging that the league manipulates baseballs based on the free agent class in an effort to help their teams spend less money through arbitration cases.

He went as far in the opposite direction as we've seen from an active player, saying he wouldn't mind if pitchers had the same materials hitters have, available to them on the mound. This includes pine tar in stick form, a rag with pine tar on it, a "sticky spray" and more.

The quote he ends with is the most compelling to the emotional side of baseball fans: look at what happened to Kevin Pillar. Watching a teammate get drilled in the nose, and have to be rushed to the hospital, is undoubtedly scary for any player to witness in-person. With that incident fresh in his mind, it's no surprise Alonso took this stance.

Now, however, we wait, to see if Major League Baseball will have anything to say about Alonso's comments.