{"id":270709,"date":"2021-06-10T02:46:02","date_gmt":"2021-06-09T23:46:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/josh-donaldson-doesnt-regret-calling-out-gerrit-cole\/"},"modified":"2021-06-10T02:46:02","modified_gmt":"2021-06-09T23:46:02","slug":"josh-donaldson-doesnt-regret-calling-out-gerrit-cole","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/josh-donaldson-doesnt-regret-calling-out-gerrit-cole\/","title":{"rendered":"#Josh Donaldson doesn’t ‘regret’ calling out Gerrit Cole"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#Josh Donaldson doesn’t ‘regret’ calling out Gerrit Cole<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

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Josh Donaldson made Gerrit Cole into the face of a MLB cheating scandal, but he says there are plenty of others worthy of the label.<\/p>\n

If Donaldson wanted to do an Oprah Winfrey impersonation, he might stand on stage and scream out to a crowd of pitchers, \u201cYou get a punishment! You get a punishment! Every-body gets a punish-ment!\u201d<\/p>\n

Four days after Donaldson pointed to Cole\u2019s decreased spin rate in his last start as evidence that pitchers are scared straight by MLB\u2019s looming crackdown on illegally doctoring the baseball that started with four suspensions at the minor league level, the Twins slugger was in the lineup Wednesday against Cole and the Yankees.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t regret it,\u201d Donaldson said before the game<\/a>. \u201cWhen I say something, it\u2019s been thought through beforehand. It\u2019s not on a whim. I\u2019ll say this: Gerrit Cole was the first guy to pitch since the suspensions happ<\/a>ened and he was the first guy who we could see spin rates going down. Since Gerrit pitched, there have been 12 or more guys already whose spin rates have drastically dropped in the last week. So it\u2019s not just Gerrit.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Josh
Josh Donaldson and Gerrit Cole<\/figcaption>
Getty Images (2)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A pitcher\u2019s spin rate is measured in revolutions per minute (RPMs) and can be increased if the ball is sticky. The spin rate on Cole\u2019s four primary pitches Thursday against the Rays decreased from season averages: By 125 RPMs on the four-seam fastball, 78 RPMs on the knock curve, 77 RPMs on the changeup and 48 RPMs on the slider, according to Baseball Savant.<\/p>\n

With offense at record lows and strikeouts on the rise, Donaldson lit a powder keg when he wondered aloud if that was \u201ccoincidence\u201d or if something fishy were going on. Cole subsequently stammered to answer directly whether he has ever used sticky Spider Tack on the mound, which caught Donaldson\u2019s attention.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot up to me to judge,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s him and his camp. Time is going to tell what happens. I\u2019m not in his position, so I don\u2019t have to wear whether I can sleep at night.\u201d<\/p>\n

It set high alerts for Wednesday\u2019s matchup and whether Cole might send a message with a fastball to the ribs.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not in his brain,\u201d Donaldson said. \u201cIf he decides to do whatever he wants to do, do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Twins manager Rocco Baldelli wasn\u2019t planning to monitor every time Cole touched his hat, pocket or belt and engage umpires to check for substances.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll be very clear on the fact that there are some pitchers that don\u2019t hide what they are doing very well \u2014 almost as if they are not trying to hide it at all,\u201d Baldelli said. \u201cAnd that\u2019s the only time we end up even discussing it. Under normal circumstances, almost every other game we play, we are worried about a lot of other things and talking about what\u2019s going on strategically trying to win the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Donaldson was armed Wednesday with a doctoral dissertation\u2019s amount of research on what kind of difference spin rates make. The former MVP has talked to MLB officials.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you are not going to be able to hit a fastball right down the middle, how much more difficult does it become?\u201d Donaldson said. \u201cTo me, it\u2019s gotten out of control to where if you are going to give $100 counterfeit money to an experienced bank teller, right away you are going to know that\u2019s not real money. Think about how many pitches I\u2019ve seen in my career.\u201d<\/p>\n