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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 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.
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 ]
He learned how to throw a spitball from Bob Shaw, a teammate of Perry's with the Giants, as well as how to hide that he was throwing it from the umpires and opposing team. [7] Perry discussed using the pitch in a game for the first time on May 31, 1964, against the New York Mets , during extra innings of the second game of a doubleheader . [ 8 ]
Shocker, known as one of the last legal spitball pitchers, led the American League (AL)—and set the Browns' record—in 1921 with 27 wins, and won 20 games in four consecutive seasons from 1920 to 1923. [2] At the time of his retirement, he was the Browns' all-time leader in wins with 126 and shutouts with 23. [3]
Frank Victor Shellenback (December 16, 1898 – August 17, 1969) was an American pitcher, pitching coach, and scout in Major League Baseball.As a pitcher, he was famous as an expert spitballer when the pitch was still legal in organized baseball; however, because Shellenback, then 21, was on a minor league roster when "trick pitches" was outlawed after the 1919 season, he was banned from ...
This technique alters the spin of the ball, causing it to move in an atypical manner, as more spin makes the ball rise, while less spin makes the ball drop. The general term for altering the ball in any way is doctoring. [1] The emery ball differs from the spitball, in which the ball is doctored by applying saliva or Vaseline. Vaseline or ...
Burleigh Arland Grimes (August 18, 1893 – December 6, 1985) was an American professional baseball player and manager, and the last pitcher officially permitted to throw the spitball. [1] [2] [3] Grimes made the most of this advantage, as well as his unshaven, menacing presence on the mound, which earned him the nickname "Ol' Stubblebeard."