Pirates' Andrew McCutchen blasts disliked MLB talking head in escalating social media spat

At this point, there's no denying that there is something up with the baseballs in MLB this season. Far too many balls that should be landing in the seats are dying at the warning track, leaving many – including Pittsburgh Pirates DH Andrew McCutchen – searching for answers.

McCutchen did some investigating earlier this month and posted his findings on X, confirming that the baseballs are indeed traveling shorter distances this season due to an increased drag during flight.

"I was told by a rep for MLB that the balls are indeed different this year," McCutchen wrote. "They stated 'higher seams' which produces more drag on baseball, causing baseballs to not travel as far as they should. When asked why, I was told 'every baseball is hand sewn so no ball is the same.'"

McCutchen also added that he was told there was “nothing” that could be done to fix the problem this season, but MLB is “working hard on getting to the bottom of why the seams are higher.”

Pirates' Andrew McCutchen blasts MLB talking head David Samson in escalating social media spat

For some reason, McCutchen's simple act of relaying information he had received about the balls really struck a nerve with former Miami Marlins president David Samson. Admittedly, it's not difficult to ruffle Samson's feathers, but he went over the top with his criticism of McCutchen on his Nothing Personal show.

“I would like to find this ‘Deep Throat’ within baseball because I would like to be the one to tell Andrew McCutchen that your source stinks!” Samson said. “And I’m not one — really, I hear from people in baseball quite a bit. They don’t exactly view me as their go-to friend of the court. But I can assure you in this case, whoever Andrew McCutchen is speaking to, that person doesn’t know squat about squat.”

First of all, the very idea that Samson's sources would be more reliable than that of a 17-year MLB veteran is, frankly, laughable. So, too, is the idea that McCutchen would fabricate a story like this and risk his good standing with the commissioner's office.

McCutchen had no problem firing back at Samson on social media, confirming that his “source” is none other than MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, backed by several witnesses. He then told Samson to stick to his “lil channel” and finished with a GIF of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson saying, “Know your role and shut your mouth.”

Well said, Cutch. The ball is in Samson's court to respond – and if he does, he had better have a better source than the literal commissioner of Major League Baseball to back him up.

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