On Friday night, pitcher Mike Fiers tossed a no-hitter for the Houston Astros against the Los Angeles Dodgers. After Fiers recorded the final out, striking out Justin Turner, he tossed him glove into the air in jubilation, but that may have been a mistake on his part because he may having been throwing away evidence. FOX Sports is reporting that Fiers appeared to have pine tar in his glove on Friday. Pine tar is used by pitchers to get a better grip on the ball, but it is an illegal substance for pitchers, according to the rules of Major League Baseball.
Even if he used the banned substance, Fiers was enjoying his accomplishment. In just his third game with the Astros, he pitched his first complete game in the majors, with a career high 134 pitches. MLB is reporting that Fiers understands that his name isn’t the first one you think of when you think of no-hitters.
“Just one of those moments you don’t get often, and for me this is the one time in my life to pitch a no-hitter in a big league ballgame against the Los Angeles Dodgers, which is amazing, it’s everything you dream of as a kid. It’s a great feeling.”
Fiers didn’t even bother to give the usually lip service pitcher’s give about not having any idea that he had a no-hitter going.
“I knew I had it. When people say they don’t have it, I just don’t understand. You’re trying not to think about it. You go about every inning the same. You face every pitch, every hitter, every inning and treat it the same always and be aggressive, attack the guys and pitch. Just pitch and do everything you’ve done before.”
It has been a busy few weeks for Fiers as he was dealt on July 30 from the Milwaukee Brewers to the Astros. As reported on earlier at the Inquisitr Carlos Gomez was the big name in the deal, But Fiers could wind up having a bigger impact by helping that young staff eat some innings.
It is a good thing that the Fiers situation happened in MLB rather than the NFL. If this was the NFL they would launch an investigation that proved nothing, yet suspend Fiers for a quarter of the season and let the whole situation drag on for eight months.
Do you think MLB should do anything to Mike Fiers because of his apparent use of pine tar?
[Image by Scott Halleran/Getty Images]
