Spider Tack Scandal The 2021 pitch doctoring controversy arose in Major League Baseball (MLB) around pitchers' use of foreign substances, such as the resin-based Spider Tack, to improve their grip and spin rate on their pitches. On June 15, 2021, MLB announced a 10-game suspension for any player caught using foreign substances on baseballs, with umpire inspections of all pitchers starting on June 21, a decision that was met with mixed reactions from players and coaches. Sign stealing scandals Houston Astros In 2019, Mike Fiers of the Oakland Athletics spoke to Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drelich of The Athletic where he revealed the Astros had been electronically stealing signs since at least the 2017 season. After an investigation by MLB, Astros manager A. J. Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow were each suspended for one year from MLB. In addition, the Astros were fined $5 million and lost their first- and second-round draft picks for the 2020 and 2021 MLB drafts. After the news broke, Astros owner Jim Crane fired both Hinch and Lunhow. Hinch admitted to knowing about the scheme and discouraging it, but not reporting or stopping it. Both Carlos Beltrán and Alex Cora were also implicated in the report by MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred. Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox, managed by Cora beginning in the 2018 season, were also accused in a story on The Athletic of having their own sign stealing scheme. On January 14, 2020, Cora and the Red Sox agreed to "mutually part ways". In a statement after the news Cora said, "I do not want to be a distraction". The report on the Red Sox scheme was not released before the decision. Two days later, Beltrán and the New York Mets came to a similar parting of the ways; the Mets had hired him as the team's new manager less than three months earlier. On April 22, 2020, MLB suspended Red Sox video replay system operator J.T. Watkins without pay through the 2020 postseason and stripped the team of its second-round draft pick this year after completing an investigation into allegations that Boston stole signs during the 2018 season. Alex Cora was also suspended through the 2020 postseason, but only for his conduct as Houston's bench coach. See also List of people banned from Major League Baseball Doping in baseball Game of Shadows References Notes Sources Eight Men Out, by Eliot