Buster Olney Reveals Details of Major Change to MLB Substance Rules

After decades of turning a blind eye to pitchers using illegal substances to help grip a baseball, Major League Baseball is planning a MAJOR reversal of their course.

Buster Olney hopped in the car for his weekly trip on The Drive, and as one would expect, we asked him about the current state of affairs in the MLB as it pertains to banned substances. You can listen to our chat with Buster above.

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Buster Olney outlined for us a few big changes that Major League Baseball is planning to implement, changing the way that umpires handle illegal substances mid-game.

What he outlined is a system in which umpires will be randomly checking pitchers for substances during the course of the game, with 8-10 occurrences during the course of a game. He said they will be checking starting pitchers on multiple occasions, and will often check pitchers as they exit the mound in between innings.

He also alluded to a major problem brewing in the MLB: the position players are upset, and some players provided the league with scouting reports on how to catch a certain pitcher cheating.

RATS! WE HAVE RATS!

With the collective bargaining agreement ending at the end of this season, the relationships in this league are a major issue. Position players are mad at pitchers, players are mad at the league, the league and ownership are losing money and (allegedly) screwing the players.

Position players are purposely trying to help the league catch pitchers cheating, and only a select few fall in Pete Alonso's category of wanting pitchers to continue using substances. The changes Buster Olney told us about are going to further slow down a game that already struggles with pace of play, and give fans another addition to their in-game confusion.

NOT. GOOD.