Cheating in baseball has been a controversial and persistent issue throughout the sport’s history. At its most amateur, cheating consists of simple sign stealing and somewhat juiced bats (bats made to be substantially more powerful than a “legal” bat); however, organizations have gone through great lengths to gain an upper hand in America’s favorite pastime.
Possibly the most infamous period of cheating in sports is baseball’s “Steroid Era” from the late 1980s to the mid-2000s. The most significant fallout from the Steroid Era came to light in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when several high-profile players, including Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds (who currently holds the record for the most homeruns in a single season as well as career-wise), and others, were implicated in the use of steroids. These players achieved record-breaking superhero performances, with McGwire and Sosa famously engaging in a home run race during the 1998 season that shot the MLB into stardom. Furthermore, each of these players have faced heavy controversy on whether or not they should be allowed to be in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
In the modern era of baseball, cheating has culminated itself through the use of trash cans and “sticky substances.” An MLB investigation confirmed in January 2020 that the Astros illegally used a camera system to steal signs during the 2017 regular season and postseason, during which they won the World Series, as well as in part of the 2018 season, in which they lost the ALCS to the Boston Red Sox. Many non-verbal cues were used by the Astros dugout to let the at-bat know what pitch was coming next. One of those cues was banging on a trash can. Opposing pitchers took notice of how the banging of the trash can aligned with a specific type of pitch being signaled by the catcher. Thus, hitters had the advantage of being able to prepare for the next pitch—a huge benefit. “Sticky substances” refer to the use of material that helps with the grip and spin of pitches. In the past few years, the MLB has had to examine the use of “sticky substances” with superstar pitchers. The use of spider tack has made the baseball spin more once released, and thus makes the pitches significantly harder to hit.