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Former Astros pitcher Gerrit Cole asked a now fired clubhouse attendant for a sticky substance from baseball medics during his 2019 season, while Justin Verlander was sympathetic to the man following his dismissal for providing the supplies, according to court documents obtained Thursday.
On January 17, 2019, Cole texted Brian “Bubba” Harkins, a longtime Angel Stadium clubhouse agent, asking “if you could help me in this sticky situation” and adding a flashing emoji. .
“We don’t see you until May,” Cole wrote, “but we have road games in April in cold places. The things I had last year seize up when it’s cold.
Harkins was sacked on March 3, 2020, after a Major League Baseball investigation found he was supplying opposing pitchers with various sticky substances that aided their catches. Harkins filed a lawsuit against the Angels and Major League Baseball in September, saying he was a “scapegoat” for the league’s efforts to crack down on foreign substances.
In a conversation with Harkins on March 7, Verlander reportedly said he wanted to support Harkins publicly, but “with their team’s careful control it will be very difficult.”
“(Verlander) talked to Mike Fyers (sic) about this and other pitchers too,” Harkins wrote in notes summarizing the phone call he had with Verlander. “Justin knows from the MLB side that they found out that teams had hired chemists and conducted studies to find more advanced things to increase turnover.
“There are also organizations that hire free agents and tell them they can increase their turnover rate for guys who don’t use things and tell them they can increase their turnover rate and help them out. as a pitcher to get them to sign with them. “
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While technically against the rules of the major leagues, pitchers have long used foreign substances to better grip baseball while umpires and opponents turn a blind eye. Better catches mean better control – and hitters are better off when pitchers can control their arsenal of hard throws.
The lawsuit claimed the angels had evidence that involved Cole, Verlander, Edwin Jackson, Max Scherzer, Felix Hernandez, Corey Kluber, Joba Chamberlain, Adam Wainwright and Tyler Chatwood.
In November, Major League Baseball and the Angels filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit. Harkins and his lawyers responded Thursday with 373 pages of evidence to support the case going forward. Cole’s text message to Harkins is one of them. The same is true of a note to league owners, general managers and principals from former MLB senior vice president Chris Young dated February 28, 2020.
Young, now general manager of the Texas Rangers, recalled that “club personnel are strictly prohibited from providing, applying, creating, concealing or otherwise facilitating the use of foreign substances by players on field. Harkins was fired three days later.
Verlander texted Harkins on March 6, telling him he was “sorry to hear about this shit”. Verlander asked Harkins to phone him to discuss something he had heard from teammate Martín Maldonado.
According to Harkins’ notes from his conversation with Verlander, Maldonado told Verlander that the Angels clubhouse attendants believed Verlander had given Harkins to the MLB. Verlander said in the text message to Harkins that “Maldonado just told me he heard something that is totally wrong!”
Verlander and Harkins spoke on March 7. Notes of the conversation were included in the evidence. According to Harkins, Verlander said “it looks like your name came from the Astros investigation.”
“Justin can’t believe it was bulls – to go to the media,” Harkins wrote in his conversation notes. “(Verlander) says the Astros have suffered as the media and players clash with players.”
Pitcher Mike Fiers, who Harkins claims Verlander spoke with, hissed at Houston’s sign-stealing scandal in November 2019, leading to a “review” that apparently banned Verlander from publicly defending Harkins.
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