Ball Doctoring: A History of Apologies, Denials, and Knowing Winks

Almost as long as baseball has been around, pitchers have used a variety of methods, legal and otherwise, to manipulate the ball. Some want the ball to spin more, some want it to spin less. Some are looking for more movement, and others are looking for more control.

Max Scherzer, the Mets’ co-ace, the highest paid player in baseball and a superstar right-handed starter on a Hall of Fame lane, is the latest pitcher to clash his methods on the mound against Major League Baseball rules about the use of foreign substances, and the last to make a statement that didn’t exactly clear things up.

In this case, Scherzer, who was kicked out of victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday, insists he used rosin — which is legal — and nothing more. However, the match officials claimed that Scherzer’s hand was stickier than any other they had previously inspected.

Scherzer made few excuses or denials about the stickiness of his hands when asked about his decision to withdraw his appeal and serve a 10-game suspension. But he also did not admit to doing anything wrong.

“I faced the Dodgers; I know those guys,” said Scherzer about the team he pitched for in 2021. “I told them, ‘Hey, this is what I did.’ They understood. They know me. I got my reputation in the game. The players understand.”

The good news for Scherzer is that while baseball may have a long memory for players accused of using performance-enhancing drugs, pitchers caught playing baseball usually walk away with no long-term consequences. In the case of Gaylord Perry and Don Sutton, for instance, giving in to the practice didn’t prevent those crafty starters from being elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

In that spirit, here are some apologies and confessions of guilt that have been offered over the years.

Nels Potter’s ‘Coughing Up’

Whereas spitballs and other “freak” throws were banned by baseball in 1920, their use was reserved for pitchers who were known to use them. As a result, it was not until 1944 that baseball was first ejected and suspended for violating the rule. Nels Potter, a top starter for the St. Louis Browns, was charged with “coughing up” on the ball in a win over the Yankees and received a 10-day suspension.

Browns manager Luke Sewell defended his pitchersaying that Potter had a nervous habit of running his fingers over his tongue and then drying them against his uniform.

“What’s wrong with blowing your fingers?” Sewell asked, subtly shifting the action from spitting or licking to blowing. “Several pitchers do it.” Sewell even went so far as to give an example by saying that Tex Hughson of the Boston Red Sox did the same.

Lew Burdette’s ‘Best Pitch’

Did Lew Burdette throw a spitball? Not necessarily, but he was happy that batters thought he was. The Society for American Baseball Research biography of Burdettea three-time All-Star, says, “On the mound, his nervous mannerisms, such as fixing his jersey and hat, wiping his forehead, touching his lips, and talking to himself, in the words of one of his managers, Fred Haney, could be.” making coffee nervous.” According to Burdette, the threat of the sputter made his other pitches more effective. “My best pitch is one I don’t throw,” he said.

Gaylord Perry’s ‘Greaseball’

Gaylord Perry won 314 games, two Cy Young Awards and was a five-time All-Star while making almost no attempt to hide the fact that he used illegal substances to improve his pitches. “Greaseball, greaseball, greaseball, that’s all I throw at him, and he still hits ’em,” Perry said of Rod Carew in 1977. “He’s the only player in baseball who consistently hits my fat. He sees the ball so well, I think he can pick the dry side.”

Perry and Carew were inducted into the Hall of Fame together in 1991.

Perry even went so far as to write a book called “Me and the Spitter” while an active player. “I would always have it in at least two places, just in case the umpires asked me to wipe one,” Perry said of his lubes. “I never wanted to get caught doing anything though; it wouldn’t be professional.”

Sandpaper by Don Sutton

In 1978, Don Sutton, a four-time All-Star for the Los Angeles Dodgers, was ejected by umpire Doug Harvey and suspended by the National League for “defaming the baseball.” Sutton made a big fuss, saying: ‘On the advice of my lawyer, I am not commenting on this. I am suing Doug Harvey, the National League and anyone who umpires.” The matter was eventually resolved and the suspension was lifted.

Later, Sutton’s outrage at such allegations softened, with Sutton joking that he and Perry had mutual understanding.

“He gave me a tube of petroleum jelly,” Sutton said. “I thanked him and handed him a piece of sandpaper.”

‘Fooling’ by Kevin Gross

Instead of smearing or spitting, Kevin Gross of the Philadelphia Phillies was ejected from a game and suspended for 10 days in 1987 because referees found a piece of sandpaper stuck to his glove.

“I got caught with sandpaper in my glove,” Gross told reporters the next day. “They thought I was supposedly sanding the ball and I was sent off. I wasn’t sanding a ball in the game last night. Instead, Gross claimed he was just “crazy” with sandpaper and that he it was not used.

For four years Gross repeatedly asked that MLB return its gloveand in 1991 it finally happened.

“I’m happy to get it back, just to have it,” Gross said. “I don’t think the league should have lasted all this time. It’s my glove.”

Gerrit Cole’s ‘Use and Use’

When the use of substances such as Spider Tack became the subject of an MLB crackdown in 2021, one of the players widely criticized was the Yankees’ ace Gerrit Cole, who was accused of working the ball to increase his spin increase rate.

When asked directly if he had used Spider Tack, a remarkably sticky substance developed to help powerlifters grab huge rocks, Cole cited ball doctoring precedent rather than making anything that resembled a denial.

“I honestly don’t really know how to answer that,” Cole said during a Zoom conference with reporters. “I mean, there are customs and practices that have been passed down from older players to younger players, from the last generation of players to this generation of players. I think there are some things that are definitely out of bounds in that regard.

Cole said he would support the MLB if the league “wanted to get some more business done.” After that, he struggled a bit for the rest of the season, allowing 33 home runs in 2022. However, in 2023, he’s looking to be one of the game’s top starting pitchers again.