Normal human grip handling the effort needed to throw a ball 95 mph is a bit different. And even if it’s fine 99% of the time that’s still multiple pitches in every game getting away. It’s going to happen to some degree regardless because it’s humans playing and not a simulation, but at the effort, velocity, and volume of pitches in a MLB game/season, I can accept there’s a meaningful difference on safety.
So, by your reasoning, walk rates and HBPs would be trending downwards, now (apparently) pitchers are using grip substances more and more. They aren't. What actual benefit is baseball receiving by allowing pitchers to use foreign substances?
Normal human grip handling the effort needed to throw a ball 95 mph is a bit different. And even if it’s fine 99% of the time that’s still multiple pitches in every game getting away. It’s going to happen to some degree regardless because it’s humans playing and not a simulation, but at the effort, velocity, and volume of pitches in a MLB game/season, I can accept there’s a meaningful difference on safety.
So, by your reasoning, walk rates and HBPs would be trending downwards, now (apparently) pitchers are using grip substances more and more. They aren't. What actual benefit is baseball receiving by allowing pitchers to use foreign substances?
No, that's a false equivalence. Using foreign substances doesn't mean you can hit a mosquito in the eye with the ball all the time, it means you miss your spot by 5 feet less often.