Andrew McCutchen isn’t backing down – not even close. The former National League MVP came out swinging after former Miami Marlins president David Samson flat-out dismissed his recent claim that baseballs in MLB feel different this season.
The veteran Pittsburgh Pirates slugger, who’s never been shy about speaking his mind, did not take kindly to being ridiculed for the source of his claim. He hit back McCutchen style – brutal, direct, and without mincing a single word.
Andrew McCutchen’s Claim on Ball Seam in 2025 MLB Season Explained
“I was told by a rep for MLB that the balls are indeed different this year,” McCutchen wrote on X in early June. “They stated ‘higher seams,’ which produces more drag on the baseball, causing baseballs to not travel as far as they should.”
I was told by a rep for MLB that the balls are indeed different this year. 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.” When… https://t.co/StaUR45PFv
— Andrew McCutchen (@TheCUTCH22) June 14, 2025
The Pirates slugger’s claim was also confirmed by a review from The Athletic, which noted that there was an increase in drag on the ball this year than in any of the previous nine MLB seasons. “As a result, equally hard-hit fly balls are coming up 4 feet short, on average,” the report mentioned.
MORE: Andrew McCutchen Reveals MLB’s Helplessness Over Ball Seam Change That’s Silently Crippling Hitters
Former Marlins President Mocks McCutchen’s ‘Deadballs’ Claim
“Andrew McCutchen claimed on X that he had inside information,” Samson said on his podcast ‘Nothing Personal with David Samson’. “That somebody who works for MLB admitted the balls are different.”
Samson went on to mock the anonymous source McCutchen cited, sarcastically referring to the person as “Deep Throat”, which was a code name used for the secret informant who leaked information to The Washington Post during the Watergate scandal in the 1970s.
“I’d like to find this ‘Deep Throat’ within baseball, because I’d like to be the one to tell Andrew McCutchen that his source stinks. And I’m not one,” he added.
Samson said he regularly hears from people around baseball, though he understands his reputation as a polarizing figure who isn’t exactly close with MLB executives. Still, he insisted that whoever McCutchen’s source is, “doesn’t know squat about squat.”
McCutchen Hits Back With a Drop-Mic Response: ‘My Source Is the Commissioner of MLB’
McCutchen wasn’t about to let Samson’s mockery slide, who made comments questioning the source of his claim on baseballs being different in 2025. The veteran outfielder had a brutal response, saying it was the commissioner of MLB, Rob Manfred, himself.
He took to X and fired off a scathing reply. “My source stinks, David? What a laughable thing to say when my ‘source’ is the Commissioner of MLB and I have 27 witnesses to back that up,” McCutchen wrote. “So stick to your little channel and do this,” as he added a gif of The Rock with the caption: “Know your role and shut your mouth!!”
My source stinks David? What a laughable thing to say when my “source” is The Commissioner of MLB and I have 27 witnesses to back that up. So stick to ur lil channel and do this… pic.twitter.com/0IjGu6lHse
— Andrew McCutchen (@TheCUTCH22) June 22, 2025
While MLB has largely dismissed concerns over changes in baseball’s behavior, plenty of players and fans have put support behind McCutchen’s claims. As for Samson, he is known for his blunt and often harsh takes on players, just happened to meet his match this time around. And McCutchen didn’t just push back. He buried him.