Ex-minor leaguer Garrett Broshuis: Cheating still prevalent in baseball

Red Sox pitcher Clay Buchholz was accused of doctoring the ball during his starts this season. (Michael Ivins/Getty Images)

Former minor-league pitcher Garrett Broshuis says that cheating is still prevalent in Major League Baseball, especially among pitchers.

Broshuis, who played in the San Francisco Giants' farm system from 2004-09, told the Associated Press that a "culture of deception" exists in the major leagues, as pitchers often use spit, pine tar and other substances to doctor balls.

The 31-year-old says that he considered cheating before retiring from the game and attending the Saint Louis University School of Law, where he wrote a paper on cheating in baseball.

Red Sox pitcher Clay Buchholz stirred up controversy earlier this season by repeatedly rubbing his pitching hand against his arm, leading Blue Jays broadcasters to accuse him of cheating.

Marlins pitcher Alex Sanabia was the latest to get caught spitting on the ball during a game against the Phillies this week. Sanabia later said that he did not know the move was illegal.

From the report:

Broshuis grew frustrated with what he saw as lax enforcement of some of baseball's prohibitions. "Probably at least once a game when I'm watching, there's something suspicious," Broshuis said. "At least one pitcher is doing something."

He says players become exposed to more cheating as they move through the minors.

"At the lower levels, it's not as prevalent, I don't think. Guys haven't had the opportunity to learn it then. As you advance to higher levels, it becomes a little more prevalent," said Broshuis, who graduated law school this month. "That'll be kind of the journeyman guys that have been around for a long time. Some of them will be doing it."

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Since he never pitched in the majors, Broshuis has less firsthand knowledge of what goes on there — but he can watch games with a more trained eye than most.