Thumbnail image for hamels_cole_091022.jpgIt seems like every time a pitcher goes through a slump, or has a bad game, someone eventually brings up the idea of pitch-tipping. Welcome to the party, Cole Hamels.
According to the Philadelphia Daily News (via Sporting News), “sources” were concerned that Hamels was giving something away in his poor-but-effective-enough outing against the Dodgers in Game 5 of the NLCS. The solution? Wear a bigger glove.
The sources said the lefthander might have been tipping his pitches by the placement of his wrist. So the plan was to have Hamels use a bigger model of his TPK glove to conceal his wrist.
Daily News writer Paul Hagen writes, “Phillies personnel wouldn’t confirm the switch. ‘But that would make sense,’ one insider allowed with a knowing smile.”
Personally, I’ve always been skeptical of the old pitch-tipping excuse. It always seems like just that: an excuse.
That being said, the Dodgers did tee off on Hamels at times in Wednesday’s game. And according to this story, some teams do put quite a bit of effort into examining the actions of opposing pitchers. So maybe there is something to this.
I guess we’ll have to wait until the World Series and see how Hamels does with his new glove. I think he’s set to start sometime in February.