Can someone please explain, to me, why pine tar is legal and common place for batters, but is illegal for a pitcher??? I don't get the rationale....
Steve it makes no sense to me at all. Batters use it to get a better grip on the bat so why can't pitchers use it to get a better grip on the ball?
The rule should be changed in regards to grip but as it stands now you have to follow the protocol that's in the books. To me that means just being discreet about it and not using a substance that's so obvious.
That's a good point also, I mean even the guys in the booth, Lieter & Cone said they use to put it in there belt. Pineda was just to obvious with it. But, not the sharpest knife in the drawer.
...the rule is different for pitchers because if they don't draw the line between the rosin bag and "other substances" it will open up a whole different can of worms. ...again, Pineda's mistake was that he was so obvious about it...this should be on management because they were "warned" by the league after Pineda's April 10th pine tar exhibition.
The one I always found funny is the spitter. I mean, you can't put spit on the ball but what happens when it rains.
Oh, I completely agree with that... I'm just saying why can't a pitcher use something for getting a better grip when a batter can... I believe the rule SHOULD be changed...
Rain or sweat... What happens when it's so damn hot you are profusely sweating and either drip onto the ball or wipe your brow and then touch the ball... it really is a STUPID rule...
...while you cannot spit directly on the ball, pitchers are allowed to lick their fingers. Spit is by no means the only way to throw a "spitter"...for example, I think Gaylord Perry and others used vaseline.
That's correct. It got the term spit ball but that doesn't mean they were using spit. I remember a video with Gaylord Perry one time where he was showing were he would put the substances and how he would get to it without anyone detecting.
I remember seeing a clip where he struck out Reggie Jackson on a pitch that broke so much it was ridiculous. Reggie went back to the dugout and threw a fit. Started throwing ice out in front of the dugout.
Yep, vaseline, plus Gaylord in his latter years (remember Perry had a exploding fastball in the 60s and mid 70s) once Perry lost his fastball, he would use Vitalis in his hair, and when he sweat, he'd wipe his brow,and voila a slippery ball intact, that would dance more than dirty dancing and flashdance combined....! Several pitchers used finger nail emery boards, in the back pocket, or in the glove (Joe Niekro and Don Sutton were busted with a nail file in their back pockets), sand paper, even had their catchers swipe the sharp buckles of their knee pads, to scuff up the ball, so they could not only get a better grip, but a cut ball, also dances in funny unhittable ways. (several pitchers were also caught with a bit of sandpaper in their gloves). Then we had Kenny Rodgers in the 05 Series with tar, yet LaRussa knew it, and never said a word. Not a factor Tony said. Yet, the game is changing, no blocked plates, ten second pitch count, replay, now this issue. I believe even Torre will tell those, a pitcher needs something for grip on these slippery brand new balls. It's like throwing an ice cube. However, I never found a ball to slippery that a good rosin bag would not cure. Palm it with dirt, that is not illegal....then rosin up the hand.
Maybe if men wore pine tar in their hair instead of Vitalis or Mousse, Vaeline Hair Tonic, Brlycream, even Butch Wax, then perhaps-Pine Tar would be legal for all pitchers....
...Pineda is "suspended" for 10 days...why is it that some people are choosing instead to say that he is "BANNED"?
I shoukd hAve put a smiley face up after my post.....missed you guys too Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk
