Get a grip: major leaguers accept pitchers using sticky substances for a better hold of ball

FILE - In this April 10, 2014 file photo, New York Yankees starting pitcher Michael Pineda delivers a pitch during the first inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium in New York. Pineda pitched for the first four innings with a dark substance on the lower palm of his pitching hand, but it was gone by the fifth. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens) (The Associated Press)

New York Yankees starting pitcher Michael Pineda delivers in the first inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium in New York, Thursday, April 10, 2014. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens) (The Associated Press)

NEW YORK – Using a suspicious substance for a better hold of the baseball on cool days is not such a sticky situation.

Whether it's the Yankees' Michael Pineda with a mysterious brown goo on his hand, Boston's Jon Lester with a green smudge in his glove or Houston's Josh Zeid spraying something on his forearm before entering a recent game, most major leaguers don't care whether pitchers get a little help — even though it's against the Official Baseball Rules.

To some, it's preferable.

Boston Red Sox outfielder Shane Victorino says "it's an unwritten rule in the game. I'm sure a lot of pitchers do it."