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Who is the biggest cheater in Major League Baseball history?
According to Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Alek Manoah, it’s Gerrit Cole of the New York Yankees.
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Appearing on an episode of ex-Toronto Raptor Serge Ibaka’s show, “How Hungry Are You?”, Manoah was asked who he thought the biggest cheater is in baseball.
It didn’t take long for the Jays ace to answer.
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“Gerrit Cole,” said Manoah, who was then asked by Ibaka on why he was chosen. “He cheated. He used a lot of sticky stuff to make his pitches better. And he got called out on it.”
According to Fox NewsMLB began cracking down on performance-enhancing sticky substances in 2021. While there is a ban, pitchers would still find ways of using them on their hands in an effort to have better control and movement of the ball.
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During this time, Cole was one of many pitchers accused of using sticky substances. He was most recently accused of cheating during a game against the Cleveland Guardians earlier this year.
There appears to be some beef between Manoah and Cole, too.
Manoah reportedly pointed out Cole’s blatant cheating while he was a member of the Houston Astros when the team used garbage cans to signal pitches to hitters.
This past August, Manoah hit Yankee Aaron Judge with a pitch, which was then followed up by Cole coming out of the dugout and calling for umpires to eject the Blue Jay.
Post-game, Manoah had some choice words for Cole.
“I made a pitch, obviously it hit Judge,” Manoah said, per Fox News. “Obviously, I looked at him and I said, ‘Man, I’m not trying to do that.’ I think he understood that. I think if Gerrit wants to do something, he can walk past the Audi sign (in front of the Yankees dugout) next time.”
In response, Cole said it “was just one too many (dustings) for my taste.”