Aces Gerrit Cole, Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer are among many well-known pitchers who have been implicated in using a flu-enhancing drug by former English clubhouse official Bubba Harkins in a lawsuit against the team and Major League Baseball accusing them of him a scapegoat.
Harkins, who was fired in March last year when the league began suppressing the use of foreign substances, filed a text message from Cole in opposition to a request to reject Harkins’ original lawsuit in August. , ‘according to ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez.
Cole’s message to Harkins is from January 2019 and reads: “Hi Bubba, this is Gerrit Cole. I was wondering if you could help me with this tough situation [winky face emoji]. We only see you in May, but we have some road races in April in cold weather. The stuff I had last year runs out when it gets cold … ‘
Harkins was known throughout the league for fortifying jars a mixture (‘with permission’) made from a mixture of pine and resin, a recipe he first learned from Troy Percival, Angels. .
Although the use of substances (including but not limited to pine and sunscreen) was a long accepted, if not technically legal, aspect of storage, MLB issued a memorandum in February 2020 rejecting the practice. In Harkins’ case, it is alleged that he did not receive the memo, and therefore did not receive a proper warning before he was shot. Kruikers have long argued that their use of a gripping agent is in part a safety measure, as their improved control limits the potential for batsmen or other volatile throws.
Harkins’ lawsuit alleges that his dismissal left him unemployed, noting that no other individual was punished for similar reasons.