I don't think that was the case, because the bat didn't come close to complying, the pine tar was definitely too high on the bat. Take a look at Prado's bats sometime, he pushes it and I'm surprised nobody has said anything about it. Personally, I can't understand why the heck guys even use pine tar. I didn't even use batting gloves the first half of my playing career, and later when I did start using them, the grip I got was fantastic. That pine tar really makes a mess, and to me isn't necessary at all.