OC Register: Angels veteran Ian Kinsler OK with pitchers using pine tar, since most do already

[AngelsWin.com]

ANAHEIM — As Trevor Bauer’s Twitter war with the Houston Astros has revived the discussion about pitchers using pine tar, Ian Kinsler feels the entire debate is not only silly, but probably shouldn’t be coming from the Cleveland Indians’ clubhouse.

“It’s a weird statement made from a pitcher who is on a pitching staff and has a bunch of peers around who are probably using pine tar,” said Kinsler, who spent the previous four seasons with the Detroit Tigers, in the Indians’ division.

“If (Corey) Kluber doesn’t use pine tar, I’d be extremely surprised, because the action he gets on his pitches is something that no one else gets, so I’m sure he’s got a pretty good grip on the ball. For (Bauer) to call out one team, I don’t know what the point of that was. For me, I don’t care.”

Kinsler, the Angels’ 35-year-old veteran of 13 big-league seasons, said he believes almost all pitchers use pine tar to help get a grip on the baseball. And he doesn’t mind that they do, as long as it’s not “excessive.”

“If that allows them to stay away from the possibility of letting one fly, I’m all for it,” he said. “It doesn’t bother me.”

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