In , a rule was put into effect by Major League Baseball that outlawed the spitball and other substance-abuse type pitches.
A group of pitchers who depended upon the spitball pitch were officially listed and allowed to continue throwing it for the remainder of their career. Here are those pitchers and the team they played on in A spitball aka spitter, wet one, or unsanitary pitch is a pitch in which the pitcher applies saliva to the baseball, either to change its aerodynamic properties or to reduce friction between his fingers and the ball. The term is sometimes applied loosely to pitches in which the ball is treated with other foreign substance, such as vaseline, and occasionally to any type of pitch that involves doctoring the baseball.
The spitball rose to prominence in the early s and was widely used into the s. Many pitchers since have been accused of throwing spitballs illegally, and a few were either caught or admitted to doing so after retiring. It is unclear when pitchers first began experimenting with the spitball, but there is no evidence that any pitcher made it an important part of his pitching arsenal before The spitball has often been credited to Elmer Stricklett.
Stricklett did not invent the spitter- he learned it from minor league teammate George Hildebrand, who had learned it from his minor league teammate Frank Corridon — but he had a key role in introducing it to the majors. While both Hildebrand and Corridon used it in the majors, Jack Chesbro and Ed Walsh were the first star pitchers who depended heavily on the spitball, first learning about it by watching Stricklett.
The tremendous success of Chesbro and Walsh- the only American League pitchers ever to win 40 games in a season- led other pitchers to take up the pitch, and it quickly became common.
The legality and ethics of the spitball were always questionable. The situation became worse when Russ Ford discovered that he could create a devastating pitch by scuffing the ball with emery paper, and other pitchers quickly followed suit. A group of pitchers who depended upon the spitball pitch were officially listed and allowed to continue throwing it for the remainder of their career. Here are those pitchers and the team they played on in , as researched by Baseball Almanac.
Vaseline behind the knee or under the bill of your cap, then just spit on your hand when they're looking at you. Burleigh Grimes had thirty-four wins prior to the season. The year after the ruling he led the league in wins with twenty-two and continued pitching for fourteen more seasons winning a career total of two-hundred seventy games. He would truly dominate the mound, earn a well deserved spot in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and later comment, "Rules or no rules, pitchers are going to throw spitters.
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Louis Browns 2. Louis Browns 4. Louis Cardinals 2. Louis Cardinals 4. The official ban of the spitball had already been in place for six months and Chapman was most likely struck by a fastball.
A spitball would have also dropped to his shins or calves. Nevertheless, the tragedy did lead MLB to establish a rule requiring umpires to replace dirty balls. It was Babe Ruth and his 29 electrifying home runs in that enthralled fans and helped lead team owners to implement rule changes to increase game scores and out-of-the-park launches.
Team owners knew that fans hated the intentional walk, especially when players like Ruth were at the plate. The decision to outlaw the spitball was led by Charles Griffith, owner and Manager of the Washington Nationals. Professional baseball then had 8 teams in each league and it was decided that the season would be the last year in which spitballers were permitted to hurl their crafty weapon. The American League allowed each of its clubs to utilize just 2 designated spitball pitchers; the National League rejected the limit and kept it open for the season.
The Havana Sugar Kings. But some pitchers and managers were concerned about the new regulation that came down fast and hard and without a sunset clause. Spitballer Burleigh Grimes of the Brooklyn Robins rightfully argued that he spent over a decade perfecting his wet throw and had little else in his pitching arsenal. Others contended that it would be difficult, if not impossible, for veteran spitballers to switch to the curveball since it uses different muscle motions they never developed.
Managers were equally worried about replacing talent that would suddenly be lost. Stan Coveleski, star pitcher of the Cleveland Indians squad that won the World Series in , was a career spitballer who would have seen his future ruined. In the Fall of , six teams in the National League voted to recommend that certain pitchers be allowed to use the spitball for the remainder of their careers. The American League agreed to the proposal and the new rule went into effect in the Spring of
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