Twins P Bailey Ober claims slick baseballs in Boston caused flexor strain that led to IL stint
Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Bailey Ober was placed on the injured list on Sunday due to a mild flexor strain in his right elbow.
The six-year MLB veteran says he hurt his elbow because the baseballs used during his May 24 start against the Boston Red Sox were too slick and not rubbed down with mud properly.
"I haven't dealt with poorly rubbed up baseballs to that extent ever," Ober told the Minnesota Star-Tribune's Bobby Nightengale. "The only way to be able to throw slick baseballs is to grip them harder, so you can execute your pitches. If not, you're not going to know where the ball is going, especially with breaking pitches."
By rule, MLB requires new baseballs to be rubbed down with Lena Blackburne Baseball Rubbing Mud before games to take the gloss off the ball. Umpires were initially tasked with rubbing the baseballs with the mud, but for years now, clubhouse attendants have typically done so. Umpires are still required to check baseballs before they're used in games.
"I threw my warm-up pitches, and I immediately asked for a new one," Ober added. "I got that one back, and it was the same thing. Every ball that I got after that was the same thing."
Exacerbating the condition of the baseballs during the Twins' 6-5 win on May 24 was the game being played in cold, rainy weather. Ober filed a complaint with the MLB Players Association after the game, and Minnesota manager Derek Shelton lodged a complaint with MLB on Ober's behalf.
Play 2026 Soccer Pick 'Em with FOX One and make your picks for the world's biggest soccer tournament
MLB investigated the baseballs used in the game following Ober and Shelton's complaints and determined they were up to league standards, according to the Star Tribune.
Ober's complaint was supported by Red Sox pitcher Sonny Gray. Speaking to the Boston Globe that day, Gray did not complain about the baseballs but said the conditions made pitching very difficult.
"Brutal. Brutal. Brutal. Absolutely brutal [conditions]," Gray said, via the Globe's Tim Healey. "It is what it is. It was brutal for everyone."
Gray allowed three runs and six hits with two walks in four innings while throwing 75 pitchers. Ober gave up four runs and seven hits in five innings on 82 pitches.
In his next start on May 30, Ober allowed seven earned runs on 12 hits (three of them home runs) over 4 2/3 innings in a 10-9 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates. He told the Star Tribune that his arm felt "beat up" after the start against the Red Sox.
Gripping a baseball too tightly can lead to injuries such as forearm strains, elbow tendinitis and stress to the elbow's ulnar collateral ligament. Ober underwent Tommy John surgery in 2015 while pitching for the College of Charleston.
An MRI showed no ligament damage in his right elbow, but Ober will be shut down from throwing for 10 to 14 days because of the mild flexor strain. This is the first time he has been on the IL.
