O's McCann after being hit in face: Let pitchers use 'some' stick for control

After being hit in the face with a pitch Monday, Baltimore Orioles catcher James McCann thinks it's time to help pitchers get a better grip on the ball for the sake of hitters' safety.

McCann sustained a broken nose when he was beaned by a 95-mph fastball from Toronto's Yariel Rodríguez on Monday. Two days later, teammate Jordan Westburg suffered a broken hand after being hit by a fastball. The veteran backstop chalked both incidents up to a lack of command, which he thinks could be fixed by allowing pitchers to use a small amount of substance beyond rosin.

"I think, in today's games, there's a lot of pitchers whose focus is throwing their best pitch at max velocity," McCann - who finished Monday's game after being hit - told Danielle Allentuck of the Baltimore Banner. "And you see guys just letting it go as hard as they can and letting it go where it goes. You talk to pitchers, a lot of them wish they had some sort of stick to be able to control it a little bit."

Foreign substance use has come under scrutiny in recent years. After many pitchers started using the illegal substance Spider Tack in 2021, MLB instituted mandatory substance checks between innings and an automatic 10-game suspension for hurlers caught using anything illegal.

McCann made it clear that he differentiates between the illegal Spider Tack and other substances such as sunscreen that have long been popular with pitchers. He feels that if today's hard throwers were allowed to use a bit of sunscreen alongside rosin, they'd have a better chance at controlling their pitches, and it'd keep hitters safer in the box.

"The Spider Tack, that's a different story. That’s taking an average pitch and making it above average," the 34-year-old said. "Sunscreen, rosin, something like that is not going to take an average pitcher and help him be an above-average pitcher, but I think it could help him have command to where those balls aren't getting away from him."

The Orioles are far from the only team to have their roster affected by command issues. Most notably, Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Mookie Betts had a potentially historic season halted in mid-June when an errant fastball broke his hand.

"There's no consequence for a guy getting drilled in the hand like Westburg or myself getting hit in the face," McCann said. "I don't think going back to letting guys throw at people is the way to go, but I do think there needs to be some steps taken to get this out of the game. We don't need guys like Mookie Betts and Jordan Westburg getting knocked out for six-plus weeks in a season because a ball got away from a pitcher."