MLB will skip sticky-stuff checks at 2021 All-Star Game, per report

There won't be any checks at Coors Field next month

Major League Baseball recently began its crackdown on the use of foreign substances by pitchers, but the league has reportedly decided to ditch sticky-stuff checks at the 2021 All-Star Game next month. According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, MLB won't have umpires checking pitchers for foreign substances at Coors Field on Tuesday, July 13.

On June 21, MLB issued new guidance to Major and Minor League Umpires regarding regular checks of all pitchers. The league's crackdown on illegal substances includes 10-game suspensions for violators, and every substance is punished the same, whether it's Spider Tack, a kind of industrial glue that sends spin rates skyrocketing, or pine tar.

Though using foreign substances has long been illegal, for years pitchers have been allowed to use grip enhancers. The problem is, as the years and technology have progressed, we've learned that some of these grip enhancers are actually performance enhancers. 

Seemingly, the use of substances designed to improve a pitcher's grip on the baseball is increasingly common, and the resulting increase in spin rate across the league likely played a role in high strikeout rates. On Tuesday, Seattle Mariners pitcher Héctor Santiago was suspended 10 games by MLB after an ejection for what umpires deemed was a foreign substance. Santiago denied using anything illegal and is appealing the suspension.

The 2021 All-Star Game will take place at Coors Field in Denver. Finalists were announced for starting spots at this year's Midsummer Classic, and the starters will be revealed Thursday on MLB Network at 9 p.m. ET. The remaining roster spots will be revealed Sunday, July 4 at 5:30 p.m. ET.