Opinion: Jon Lester accused of cheating

Boston Red Sox pitcher Jon Lester was accused of cheating in game one of the 2013 World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals. The accusations all arose when St. Louis Cardinals minor league pitcher Tyler Melling, 25, noticed that Lester had something in between the webbing in his glove. He appears to take a photo of it on his phone and he posted the picture on twitter with text saying, “Jon Lester using a little Vaseline inside the glove tonight?” Another person, who seems to be a Cardinals fan, took a Vine of Lester going to his glove to add the substance to his fingers for better grip.

Rosin, a form of resin obtained from pines and other plants, is the substance that Lester claims was used in his glove, not the Vaseline that Melling accused him of using. Rosin is perfectly legal for pitchers to use and it is in fact provided for pitchers on the mound to aid them with their grip. Vaseline however, is a banned substance that helps baseballs slide off pitchers hands without creating too much backspin, which in turn, gives pitchers a clear advantage over hitters.

Lester’s successful game added fuel to the allegations. Lester pitched 7 2-3 innings in an 8-1 win for the Red Sox, giving up 5 hits with eight strikeouts and one walk.

Lester’s claims of using rosin make sense because he is an excessive sweater so he needs help with his grip of the baseball. Lester also has no prior instances of cheating or violating Major League Baseball rules. He is also liked by many fans around baseball, due in large part to his fight with non-Hodgkin lymphoma and his ability to not only beat the cancer, but to come back and pitch in the majors at an effective level. Lester was 15-8 with a 3.75 ERA during the regular season.

Although the green spot in Lester’s glove is a bit suspicious, Lester’s past doesn’t indicate he would cheat and he makes sound claims which are backed up by members of the Red Sox. The Cardinals nor umpires had any suspicions during the game either, so for now, Lester is off the hook.

Unfortunately for fans of Major League Baseball, the general public will never really know if Lester cheated or not, but it makes for a good discussion and gives Cardinals fans an excuse if they end up losing the World Series.