Angels’ visiting clubhouse manager fired over ball-doctoring

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — The Los Angeles Times reports the Angels have fired longtime visiting clubhouse manager Brian “Bubba” Harkins for allegedly aiding pitchers in obtaining illegal substances to put on baseballs.

The Angels confirmed Harkins’ dismissal Thursday night to The Associated Press but wouldn’t give details on the reasons for his departure.

The newspaper cited unnamed sources in reporting the reason for Harkins’ firing after nearly four decades working at Angel Stadium. The Orange County Register, also citing an unnamed source, reported Harkins was allegedly providing illegal, ball-doctoring substances to visiting pitchers at Angel Stadium.

Harkins started out as a batboy with the Angels. He eventually became a clubhouse attendant in the 1980s, and he has been in his current job in the visitors’ clubhouse since 1990.

Major League Baseball has been cracking down this spring on the use of pine tar and other substances pitchers use to get a better grip on the ball. Such practices, including a popular concoction from sunscreen and resin, have technically been outlawed for years, but those rules had been enforced sparingly.