Philadelphia Phillies closer Craig Kimbrel has earned a reputation for being one of the best finishers in the game. A former Rookie of the Year and nine-time All-Star, the Alabama native knows how to get it done.
Drafted by the Atlanta Braves, Kimbrel spent the first five years of his career on the team. During that time, he led the NL in saves for four of his five seasons in Atlanta, and finished in the top ten in NL Cy Young voting each season between 2011 and 2014.
Now a closer for the Philadelphia Phillies, the 34-year old is showing signs of slowing down. Kimbrel has not had a 30-save season since 2018, despite hitting the mark every year between 2011 and 2018.
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On Friday, May 26, Craig Kimbrel got Atlanta Braves star Ronald Acuna Jr. to ground out and secure a 6-4 victory for the Phillies. The save was the 400th of his career and puts him one more finish away from tying star Boston Red Sox closer Kenley Jansen in the category.
"Save No. 400 in the books" - Philadelphia Phillies
Despite the cause for celebration, fans on Twitter began to allege that Craig Kimbrel had been using foreign substances like pine tar to improve grip and pitch accuracy. Some even claimed that they could see a sticky spot on his hat, where they believed the substance emanated from.
As per MLB rules, rosin from the supplied rosin bag is the only substance that pitchers are allowed to use. Any other substances are strictly banned and can lead to significant repurcussions if pitchers are caught using them.
While the accusations hurled at Kimbrel via Twitter were unrelenting, the 6-foot right hander has never been penalized for using any foreign substances in his 14 seasons on the mound. Nevertheless, some fans still found it in their hearts to congratulate Kimbrel.
Pitchers using foreign substances has been at the top of everyone's mind since an incident involving New York Mets ace Max Scherzer. Despite claiming that sweat and rosin were the only two causes of his sticky hands, Scherzer was ejected and handed a 10-game suspension from the MLB.
Despite his journeyman status, Craig Kimbrel still finds a way
Craig Kimbrel has has been on five teams in the last five seasons. While his numbers, and velocity have seen obvious declines, he is still seen as one of the MLB's most reliable closers. Whether or not he is using any sort of banned substances may need to be investigated, but remains a baseless theory at this point.
