Illegal Pitches: A Brief History Of Trick Pitches, Spit Balls, And Rule Changes In Baseball

If you read the biographies of old baseball pitchers, you'll find all kinds of tricks they used to take that bright, white shine off a baseball.

They'd rip the hide with emery boards/nail files, sandpaper, hooks, tiny knives and even good old fingernails. Anything to take away the "perfect sphere" shape of a new ball. Or they'd just make it dirty. Scuff it up. They'd use dirt or tobacco juice.

By the end of the game, the ball was nearly black.But the most common thing you hear about is how they'd "junk it up." They'd put all kinds of slippery substances on it. Preferrably clear, so that the umpire and hitter couldn't tell without handling it. K-Y Jelly and Vaseline are the most infamous bits of goop.

No one can get away with "emery balls" and "scuff balls" anymore. They are removed from play immediately, because they are so easy to see. But the "spit ball" continues to pop up in big league play now and then.

World Series manager Dick Williams tells a little story in his book, No More Mr. Nice Guy, about the 1967 Boston Red Sox team (which defied all odds-makers and went to the Series against Bob Gibson and the St. Louis Cardinals). Williams talks about all his players playing with a ferocious new intensity:

"And there was veteran pitcher John Wyatt in the bullpen, throwing like a kid again. Come to think of it, Wyatt was doing everything like a kid again. I remember one game when he had somehow reached third base, turned the corner, and promptly got caught in a rundown. While scurrying back and forth, some things dropped out of his jacket pocket. No bid deal. Just some cigarets and matches, his car keys... and a tube of Vaseline."

The last great spitter was probably Hall of Famer Gaylord Perry. There were times when the umpire would have Gaylord practically stripping down to his undies on there on the mound, searching him for stuff.

All these now-illegal pitches were once perfectly-legal in major league play.

The rule outlawing them was really created during the winter of 1919-1920. There were several reasons for that new rule -- not the least of which was when pitcher Carl Mays killed batter Ray Chapman with a thrown ball during a major league game. Chapman was hit in the head and would later die.

Whether Mays threw a "spit ball" isn't known, but the ball was definitely dirty -- and dirty baseballs are harder for hitter's to pick up when they come flying in. That was determined to have definitely been a factor in Chapman's death.

That tragedy made everyone realize pitching had to be cleaned up -- literally.

But, even then, the new rule was "grandfathered" in. That means that 17 established major leaguers who were then using the spitball could continue using it until they retired. (For instance, nasty ol' Burleigh Grimes, seen below, could keep on using it.) But no one else could.

All those new balls constantly put into play by the umpire is also believed to have contributed to the "Babe Ruth era" of the 1920s, when home runs and offensive output soared. People still refer to the pre-1920 era as the "dead ball era" -- because it isn't easy to hit homers when one ball is used all game.

In his book The Glory of Their Times, Fred Snodgrass (the New York Giants outfield from the 1910s) wrote:

"We hardly ever saw a new baseball, a clean one [in a game]. If the ball went into the stands and the ushers couldn't get it back from the spectators, only then would the umpire throw out a new one."

The illegal pitch rule was tinkered with again in 1968.

And, in 1975, a rule was added saying a pitcher was not allowed to have the various types of goop on their person, regardless if they actually used it. If a pitcher was found with a "foreign substance," he was immediately ejected. No questions asked.

Illegal Pitch Rule Book Changes

Here are the actual rule book additions and changes:

1920:

"In event of the ball being intentionally discolored by any player, either by rubbing it with the soil, or by applying rosin, paraffin, licorice, or any other foreign substance to it, or otherwise intentionally damaging or roughening the same with sandpaper or emery paper, or other substance, the umpire shall forthwith demand the return of that ball and substitute it for another legal ball, and the offending player shall be disbarred from further participation in the game. If, however, the umpire cannot detect the violator of this rule, and the ball is delivered to the bat by the pitcher, then the latter shall be at once removed from the game, and as an additional penalty shall be automatically suspended for a period of 10 days.

"At no time during the progress of the game shall the pitcher be allowed to:"        

1. Apply a foreign substance of any kind to the ball;        
2. Expectorate on the ball or his glove;        
3. Rub the ball on his glove, person or clothing;        
4. Deface the all in any manner;        
5. Deliver what is called the "shine" ball, "spit" ball, "mud" ball, or "emery" ball.

"For violation of any part of this rule the umpire shall at once order the pitcher from the game, and in addition he shall be automatically suspended for a period of 10 days, on notice from the president of the league."

1968:

"The pitcher shall not:        

1. bring his pitching hand in contact with his mouth or lips. Penalty: for violating this part of this rule the umpire shall warn the pitcher and if this action is repeated the umpire shall immediately disqualify the pitcher;        

2. apply a foreign substance of any kind to the ball;        
3. expectorate on the ball, his pitching hand, or his glove;        
4. rub the ball on his glove, person or clothing;        
5. deface the all in any manner;        
6. deliver what is called the "shine" ball, "spit" ball, "mud" ball, or "emery" ball.

"The pitcher, of course, is allowed to rub the ball between his bare hands. Penalty: For violation of any part of this rule the umpire shall immediately disqualify the pitcher.