Spitball
Encyclopedia
A spitball is an illegal baseball pitch
in which the ball has been altered by the application of saliva
, petroleum jelly
, or some other foreign substance.
Such a pitch presents an additional challenge to the hitter because it causes the ball to move atypically during its approach due to the altered wind-resistance and weight on one side of the ball.
Alternative names for the spitball are spitter, mud ball, shine ball, supersinker, vaseline ball (because originally, Vaseline was used to give the ball a little more break), and emery ball, although technically, an emery ball is one where the ball has been abraded in much the same way that the original cut ball had been physically cut (an emery ball is also known as a scuff ball).
and Frank Corridon
. Numerous accounts, however, refer to different players experimenting with versions of the spitball throughout the latter half of the 19th century, and it remains unlikely that any one individual "invented" the spitball.
Ed Walsh
, however, is certainly responsible for popularizing it. Walsh dominated the American League
from 1906–1912 primarily on the strength of his spitball, and pitchers around the league soon copied his spitball or invented their own trick pitch.
The dramatic increase in the popularity of "freak deliveries" led to a great deal of controversy throughout the 1910s regarding the abolition of the spitball and related pitches. In his autobiography
, Ty Cobb
wrote that such "freak pitches" "were outlawed when the owners greedily sold out to home run
s."
In addition, there were serious issues with the spitball, as a variation on the standard spitball called for the pitcher to smear the entire surface of the normally white ball with a mixture of tobacco spittle
and dirt or mud in order to stain it the same deep brown color as the infield, making it nearly impossible for batters to see or avoid in low-light conditions. In August of 1920, Ray Chapman
was famously struck in the temple and killed by a spitball thrown by pitcher Carl Mays
during a poorly lit game; Chapman is the second of only two Major League Baseball players to have died as a result of an injury received in a game (the first was Mike "Doc" Powers
in 1909).
The spitball was banned in two stages. In the winter of 1919–1920, managers voted to partially ban the spitball, allowing each team to designate at most two pitchers who would be permitted to legally throw spitballs. Then, following the 1920 season, the spitball was banned leaguewide, except for existing spitballers who were grandfathered
in and allowed to keep throwing the pitch legally until they retired.
Seventeen existing spitballers were granted this exemption. Burleigh Grimes
lasted the longest, retiring in 1934. The complete list: Doc Ayers
(played through 1921); Ray Caldwell
(1921); Stan Coveleski
(1928); Bill Doak
(1929); Phil Douglas
(1922); Red Faber
(1933); Dana Fillingim
(1925); Ray Fisher
(1920); Marv Goodwin
(1925); Dutch Leonard
(1925); Clarence Mitchell
(1932); Jack Quinn
(1933); Allen Russell (1925); Dick Rudolph
(1927); Urban Shocker
(1928); and Allen Sothoron
(1926).
In March 1955, MLB Commissioner Ford Frick
advocated for the return of the spitball, telling a sportswriter, "If I had my way, I'd legalize the old spitter. It was a great pitch and one of the easiest to throw. There was nothing dangerous about it." Despite the Commissioner's enthusiasm, the pitch remained illegal.
, Leo Durocher
, then-manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers
, fined Bobo Newsom
for throwing a spitball and "lying to me about it.") Typically, a lubricant is hidden behind the pitcher's knee or under the peak of his cap. Others will place the ball in their mitt and then cough on or lick it. Another tactic pitchers use is to soak their hair in water before going out to the mound, and then rubbing their hand in their hair before a pitch. Some pitchers have even glued a piece of sandpaper
to one of their fingers, and scuffed a part of the ball to achieve a similar effect to the spitball. Ted "Double Duty" Radcliffe
has stated that he would hide a piece of emery board in his belt buckle so that he could roughen the ball or even cut it. During the Minnesota Twins
' 1987 pennant chase, one of their starting pitchers, Joe Niekro
, was suspended when he was caught on the field with a nail file in his back pocket. Niekro said in defense that he had been filing his nails, a common practice amongst knuckleball pitchers. One week later, Philadelphia Phillies
pitcher Kevin Gross
was caught with sandpaper in his glove and suspended.
One of the most famous spitballers was Preacher Roe
, who played for the Brooklyn Dodgers
in the 1950s. Roe was renowned both for his ability to control the spitball, as well as to throw it without getting caught and described his methodology in a 1955 article in Sports Illustrated
, "The Outlawed Spitball Was My Money Pitch", published a year after he retired. Another famous user of the pitch was Gaylord Perry
, who went so far as to title his autobiography
Me and the Spitter
. (For example, Gaylord would put vaseline
on his zipper because umpires would never check there.) Don Drysdale
and Lew Burdette
also used the pitch regularly.
or split-finger fastball
. It is sometimes used simply as slang for the knuckleball
.
There is also the remote term of God-given spitter, which is when the ball is naturally dampened by moist air or light rainfall, which allows pitchers to be able to throw pitches with sharper breaks, much like a spitball.
in cricket
, but is not the same thing. The shining of one side of the ball, as well as the use of sweat and saliva, even when tainted with mints that a player is sucking on, is not only legal in cricket but an integral part of the game as it is used to create such phenomena as swing bowling
. Illegal ball tampering in cricket includes such practices as altering of the ball's state by the use of artificial substances such as sun block, dirt or degradation by fingernails or other hard substances.
Pitch (baseball)
In baseball, a pitch is the act of throwing a baseball toward home plate to start a play. The term comes from the Knickerbocker Rules. Originally, the ball had to be literally "pitched" underhand, as with pitching horseshoes. Overhand throwing was not allowed until 1884.The biomechanics of...
in which the ball has been altered by the application of saliva
Saliva
Saliva , referred to in various contexts as spit, spittle, drivel, drool, or slobber, is the watery substance produced in the mouths of humans and most other animals. Saliva is a component of oral fluid. In mammals, saliva is produced in and secreted from the three pairs of major salivary glands,...
, petroleum jelly
Petroleum jelly
Petroleum jelly, petrolatum, white petrolatum or soft paraffin, CAS number 8009-03-8, is a semi-solid mixture of hydrocarbons , originally promoted as a topical ointment for its healing properties...
, or some other foreign substance.
Such a pitch presents an additional challenge to the hitter because it causes the ball to move atypically during its approach due to the altered wind-resistance and weight on one side of the ball.
Alternative names for the spitball are spitter, mud ball, shine ball, supersinker, vaseline ball (because originally, Vaseline was used to give the ball a little more break), and emery ball, although technically, an emery ball is one where the ball has been abraded in much the same way that the original cut ball had been physically cut (an emery ball is also known as a scuff ball).
History
The invention of the spitball has been popularly credited to a number of individuals, among them Elmer StricklettElmer Stricklett
Elmer Griffin Stricklett , was a professional baseball pitcher. He pitched in Major League Baseball from 1904 through 1907. He is best known for being the first pitcher to master the spitball.-Career:...
and Frank Corridon
Frank Corridon
Frank Joseph Corridon [Fiddler] was a pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for three different teams between the and seasons. Listed at 6' 0" 170 lb., Corridon was a switch-hitter and threw right-handed. He was born in Newport, Rhode Island.The invention of the spitball has been credited...
. Numerous accounts, however, refer to different players experimenting with versions of the spitball throughout the latter half of the 19th century, and it remains unlikely that any one individual "invented" the spitball.
Ed Walsh
Ed Walsh
Edward Augustine Walsh was a Major League Baseball pitcher. He holds the record for lowest career ERA, 1.82.-Baseball career:Born in Plains Township, Pennsylvania, Walsh had a brief though remarkable major league career...
, however, is certainly responsible for popularizing it. Walsh dominated the American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
from 1906–1912 primarily on the strength of his spitball, and pitchers around the league soon copied his spitball or invented their own trick pitch.
The dramatic increase in the popularity of "freak deliveries" led to a great deal of controversy throughout the 1910s regarding the abolition of the spitball and related pitches. In his autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
, Ty Cobb
Ty Cobb
Tyrus Raymond "Ty" Cobb , nicknamed "The Georgia Peach," was an American Major League Baseball outfielder. He was born in Narrows, Georgia...
wrote that such "freak pitches" "were outlawed when the owners greedily sold out to home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
s."
In addition, there were serious issues with the spitball, as a variation on the standard spitball called for the pitcher to smear the entire surface of the normally white ball with a mixture of tobacco spittle
Chewing tobacco
Chewing tobacco Chewing tobacco Chewing tobacco (also known colloquially as hoobastank, backy, tobac, doogooos,Hogleg, chewpoos, chits, chewsky, chawsky, dip, flab, chowers, guy, or a wad, as well as referred to as dipsky, snuff, a pinch, a yopper, a Packing a bomb, a tobbackey or packing a...
and dirt or mud in order to stain it the same deep brown color as the infield, making it nearly impossible for batters to see or avoid in low-light conditions. In August of 1920, Ray Chapman
Ray Chapman
Raymond Johnson Chapman was an American baseball player, spending his entire career as a shortstop for Cleveland....
was famously struck in the temple and killed by a spitball thrown by pitcher Carl Mays
Carl Mays
Carl William Mays was a right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball from 1915 to 1929. Despite impressive career statistics, he is primarily remembered for throwing a beanball on August 16, 1920, that struck and killed Ray Chapman of the Cleveland Indians, making Chapman one of two people to die...
during a poorly lit game; Chapman is the second of only two Major League Baseball players to have died as a result of an injury received in a game (the first was Mike "Doc" Powers
Doc Powers
Michael Riley "Doc" Powers was an American Major League Baseball player who caught for four different teams from to . He played for the Louisville Colonels and Washington Senators of the National League, and the Philadelphia Athletics and New York Highlanders of the American League...
in 1909).
The spitball was banned in two stages. In the winter of 1919–1920, managers voted to partially ban the spitball, allowing each team to designate at most two pitchers who would be permitted to legally throw spitballs. Then, following the 1920 season, the spitball was banned leaguewide, except for existing spitballers who were grandfathered
Grandfather clause
Grandfather clause is a legal term used to describe a situation in which an old rule continues to apply to some existing situations, while a new rule will apply to all future situations. It is often used as a verb: to grandfather means to grant such an exemption...
in and allowed to keep throwing the pitch legally until they retired.
Seventeen existing spitballers were granted this exemption. Burleigh Grimes
Burleigh Grimes
Burleigh Arland Grimes was an American professional baseball player, and the last pitcher officially permitted to throw the spitball. He was elected to the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in 1954. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1964.-Career:Nicknamed "Ol' Stubblebeard", Grimes was...
lasted the longest, retiring in 1934. The complete list: Doc Ayers
Doc Ayers
Yancey Wyatt "Doc" Ayers was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball. He was known for throwing the spitball, and was one of the 17 pitchers allowed to continue throwing the pitch after it was outlawed in 1920. Ayers played nine seasons in the American League with the Washington Senators and...
(played through 1921); Ray Caldwell
Ray Caldwell
Raymond Benjamin Caldwell, , was an American major league pitcher from 1910 to 1921. He was known for throwing the spitball, and he was one of the 17 pitchers allowed to continue throwing the pitch after it was outlawed in 1920.Caldwell was notorious during his playing career for his addiction to...
(1921); Stan Coveleski
Stan Coveleski
Stanley Anthony Coveleski was a Major League Baseball player during the 1910s and 1920s. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1969....
(1928); Bill Doak
Bill Doak
William Leopold Doak was born on January 28, 1891 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He spent 11 years with the St. Louis Cardinals. In he went 19-6 and lead the league with an ERA of 1.72. Doak won 20 games in , and led the NL in ERA again in 1921. On June 14, 1924 Doak was traded by the Cardinals to...
(1929); Phil Douglas
Phil Douglas
Phillip Brooks Douglas was an American baseball player.Douglas originally signed with the Chicago White Sox in 1912, but soon landed with the Cincinnati Reds. In 1915, he was traded to the Brooklyn Dodgers, then to the Chicago Cubs.In 1919, he was signed by the New York Giants. John McGraw had...
(1922); Red Faber
Red Faber
Urban Clarence "Red" Faber was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball from through , playing his entire career for the Chicago White Sox. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1964....
(1933); Dana Fillingim
Dana Fillingim
Dana Fillingim was a pitcher in Major League Baseball. He played for the Philadelphia Athletics, Boston Braves, and Philadelphia Phillies. Fillingim's key pitch was the spitball, and he was one of the pitchers allowed to continue throwing the pitch after it was outlawed in 1921.-External links:...
(1925); Ray Fisher
Ray Fisher
Ray Lyle Fisher was an American professional baseball pitcher. He pitched all or part of ten seasons in Major League Baseball. His debut game took place on July 2, 1910. His final game took place on October 2, 1920...
(1920); Marv Goodwin
Marv Goodwin
Marvin Mardo Goodwin , was a professional baseball player who played pitcher in the Major Leagues from -. He would play for the Washington Senators, St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds...
(1925); Dutch Leonard
Dutch Leonard (left-handed pitcher)
Hubert Benjamin "Dutch" Leonard, was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who had an 11-year career from 1913–1921, 1924-1925. He played for the Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers, and holds the major league modern-era record for the lowest single-season ERA of all time — 0.96...
(1925); Clarence Mitchell
Clarence Mitchell
Clarence Elmer Mitchell , is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He played in the majors from 1911-1932 for the Detroit Tigers, Cincinnati Reds, New York Giants, Brooklyn Robins, Philadelphia Phillies and St. Louis Cardinals...
(1932); Jack Quinn
Jack Quinn (baseball)
John Picus "Jack" Quinn, born Joannes Pajkos , was a pitcher in Major League Baseball. Quinn pitched for eight teams in three major leagues and made his final appearance at the age of 50.-Biography:Born in Štefurov, Slovakia , Quinn emigrated to America as an...
(1933); Allen Russell (1925); Dick Rudolph
Dick Rudolph
Richard Rudolph , was a pitcher in the Major Leagues from 1910-1927. He played for the New York Giants and Boston Braves. He was an alumnus of Fordham University...
(1927); Urban Shocker
Urban Shocker
Urban James Shocker , born Urbain Jacques Shockor in Cleveland, Ohio, was a Major League Baseball pitcher for the New York Yankees and St. Louis Browns from to ....
(1928); and Allen Sothoron
Allen Sothoron
Allen Sutton Sothoron was a spitball pitcher who spent 11 years in the major leagues, playing for the St. Louis Browns, Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians and the St. Louis Cardinals. His best season came in 1919, where he went 20-13 with a 2.20 ERA. After the spitball was outlawed, he was one of...
(1926).
In March 1955, MLB Commissioner Ford Frick
Ford Frick
Ford Christopher Frick was an American sportswriter and executive who served as president of the National League from to and as the third Commissioner of Major League Baseball from 1951 to . He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1970...
advocated for the return of the spitball, telling a sportswriter, "If I had my way, I'd legalize the old spitter. It was a great pitch and one of the easiest to throw. There was nothing dangerous about it." Despite the Commissioner's enthusiasm, the pitch remained illegal.
Methodology
Although the spitball is now banned at all levels of professional and organized amateur baseball, it is still sometimes thrown in violation of the rules. (In 19421942 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: St. Louis Cardinals over New York Yankees *All-Star Game, July 6 at Polo Grounds: American League, 3-1-Other champions:*Negro Leagues World Series: Kansas City Monarchs over Homestead Grays...
, Leo Durocher
Leo Durocher
Leo Ernest Durocher , nicknamed Leo the Lip, was an American infielder and manager in Major League Baseball. Upon his retirement, he ranked fifth all-time among managers with 2,009 career victories, second only to John McGraw in National League history. Durocher still ranks tenth in career wins by...
, then-manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
, fined Bobo Newsom
Bobo Newsom
Louis Norman Newsom was an American starting pitcher in Major League Baseball. Also known as "Buck", Newsom played for a number of teams from 1929 through 1953...
for throwing a spitball and "lying to me about it.") Typically, a lubricant is hidden behind the pitcher's knee or under the peak of his cap. Others will place the ball in their mitt and then cough on or lick it. Another tactic pitchers use is to soak their hair in water before going out to the mound, and then rubbing their hand in their hair before a pitch. Some pitchers have even glued a piece of sandpaper
Sandpaper
Sandpaper, also known as glasspaper, is a heavy paper with abrasive material attached to its surface.Sandpaper is part of the "coated abrasives" family of abrasive products. It is used to remove small amounts of material from surfaces, either to make them smoother , to remove a layer of material...
to one of their fingers, and scuffed a part of the ball to achieve a similar effect to the spitball. Ted "Double Duty" Radcliffe
Ted Radcliffe
Theodore Roosevelt "Double Duty" Radcliffe was at his death thought to be the oldest living professional baseball player , one of only a handful of major league players who lived past their 100th birthdays, and a former star in the...
has stated that he would hide a piece of emery board in his belt buckle so that he could roughen the ball or even cut it. During the Minnesota Twins
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...
' 1987 pennant chase, one of their starting pitchers, Joe Niekro
Joe Niekro
Joseph Franklin Niekro was an American Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He was the younger brother of pitcher Phil Niekro, and the father of Minor League Baseball pitcher Lance Niekro. A native of Blaine, Ohio, Niekro attended Bridgeport High School in Bridgeport, Ohio and attended West...
, was suspended when he was caught on the field with a nail file in his back pocket. Niekro said in defense that he had been filing his nails, a common practice amongst knuckleball pitchers. One week later, Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
pitcher Kevin Gross
Kevin Gross
Kevin Frank Gross , is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played from 1983 through 1997.Gross played for five different teams during his career: the Philadelphia Phillies , Montreal Expos , Los Angeles Dodgers , Texas Rangers , and Anaheim Angels...
was caught with sandpaper in his glove and suspended.
One of the most famous spitballers was Preacher Roe
Preacher Roe
Elwin Charles Roe was a Major League Baseball pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals , Pittsburgh Pirates , and Brooklyn Dodgers .-Early years:...
, who played for the Brooklyn Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
in the 1950s. Roe was renowned both for his ability to control the spitball, as well as to throw it without getting caught and described his methodology in a 1955 article in Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
, "The Outlawed Spitball Was My Money Pitch", published a year after he retired. Another famous user of the pitch was Gaylord Perry
Gaylord Perry
Gaylord Jackson Perry is a former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He pitched from 1962-1983 for eight different teams in his career. During a 22-year baseball career, Perry compiled 314 wins, 3,534 strikeouts, and a 3.11 earned run average...
, who went so far as to title his autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
Me and the Spitter
Me and the Spitter
Me and the Spitter is Gaylord Perry's autobiography that details how he cheated, doctoring baseballs with spit and Vaseline....
. (For example, Gaylord would put vaseline
Vaseline
Vaseline is a brand of petroleum jelly based products owned by Anglo-Dutch company Unilever. Products include plain petroleum jelly and a selection of skin creams, soaps, lotions, cleansers, deodorants and personal lubricants....
on his zipper because umpires would never check there.) Don Drysdale
Don Drysdale
Donald Scott "Don" Drysdale was a Major League Baseball player and Hall of Fame right-handed pitcher with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was one of the dominant starting pitchers of the 1960s, and became a radio and television broadcaster following his playing career...
and Lew Burdette
Lew Burdette
Selva Lewis Burdette, Jr. was an American right-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played primarily for the Boston and Milwaukee Braves...
also used the pitch regularly.
Legal spits
The name dry spitter is sometimes used to describe a pitch that moves like a spitball without saliva, such as the forkballForkball
The forkball is a type of pitch in baseball. Related to the split-fingered fastball, the forkball is held between the first two fingers and thrown hard snapping the wrist....
or split-finger fastball
Split-finger fastball
A split-finger fastball or splitter is a pitch in baseball. It is named after the technique of putting the index and middle finger on different sides of the ball, or "splitting" them. When thrown hard, it appears to be a fastball to the batter, but suddenly "drops off the table" towards home...
. It is sometimes used simply as slang for the knuckleball
Knuckleball
A knuckleball is a baseball pitch with an erratic, unpredictable motion. The pitch is thrown so as to minimize the spin of the ball in flight. This causes vortices over the stitched seams of the baseball during its trajectory, which in turn can cause the pitch to change direction—and even...
.
There is also the remote term of God-given spitter, which is when the ball is naturally dampened by moist air or light rainfall, which allows pitchers to be able to throw pitches with sharper breaks, much like a spitball.
Comparison to other sports
Preparing a spitball is analogous to illegal ball tamperingBall tampering
In the sport of cricket, ball tampering is an action in which a fielder illegally alters the condition of the ball. Under Law 42, subsection 3 of the Laws of Cricket, the ball may be polished without the use of an artificial substance, may be dried with a towel if it is wet, and have mud removed...
in cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
, but is not the same thing. The shining of one side of the ball, as well as the use of sweat and saliva, even when tainted with mints that a player is sucking on, is not only legal in cricket but an integral part of the game as it is used to create such phenomena as swing bowling
Swing bowling
Swing bowling is a technique used for bowling in the sport of cricket. Practitioners are known as swing bowlers. Swing bowling is generally classed as a subtype of fast bowling.-Physics of swing bowling:...
. Illegal ball tampering in cricket includes such practices as altering of the ball's state by the use of artificial substances such as sun block, dirt or degradation by fingernails or other hard substances.