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A spitball is a now-illegal baseball pitch in which the ball has been altered by the application of a foreign substance such as saliva or petroleum jelly. This technique alters the wind resistance and weight on one side of the ball, causing it to move in an atypical manner.
The spitball was formally banned in 1920, after Ray Chapman was struck in the head and killed by one such pitch. Another historical method of doctoring pitches included the emery ball , in which sandpaper or an emery board was used to scuff one side of a ball and change its flight pattern. [ 2 ]
Commonly called balks are failure for the pitcher to come to a set position (or coming set multiple times) or failure to step in the direction of the base he is throwing toward. The spirit of a balk is that certain movements mean the pitcher has begun the pitch, so the runner cannot then be picked off. Some balks result from errant or ...
The spitball is an illegal baseball pitch where the ball has been altered by the application of a foreign substance, such as saliva or petroleum jelly. The emery ball, also an illegal pitch, consists of throwing a ball that has been scuffed by a rough surface, such as an emery board or sandpaper.
Strict new regulations governed the ball's size, shape and composition, along with a new rule officially banning the spitball and other pitches that depended on the ball being treated or roughed-up with foreign substances, resulted in a ball that traveled farther when hit. [75]
After struggling to stay in the majors, Perry learned to throw a spitball, an illegal pitch using various substances such as saliva and Vaseline. Despite admitting to throwing a spitball, Perry was ejected from a game for doctoring the baseball only one time, in 1982, and he was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1991.
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Ball scuffing and adulteration by pitchers, particularly the spitball, were allowed, putting hitters at a disadvantage. The era ended very suddenly; by 1921, offenses were scoring 40% more runs and hitting four times as many home runs as they had in 1918. There is no consensus among baseball historians as to what caused the change.