
Pitchers Adulterating Baseballs - mykowebhn
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/29/sports/baseball/pitching.html
======
SubiculumCode
Here is my take. In long past times, baseballs were reused until warn out, and
those that went into the stands were returned. This allowed the balls to get
naturally bruised up, which inadvertently gave pitchers more (unpredictable)
movement than today's clean, unused baseballs. Because of this, old pitchers
may not have had to throw with as much elbow rotation as today's pitchers do
to get effective levels of movement. This lower spin requirements meant less
strain on arms of pitchers, letting them throw more innings and longer games
than you typically see in today's baseball. Giving that pitcher's elbows are
going out at record frequencies in the MLB in the last decade, I'm all for
allowing pitchers to rough up balls some, moreover, enhance it beyond what
they can do now. Optimally, I think the league should intentionally texture-
ize parts of the ball to give pictures the spin they need, and thus help
minimize injury risk.

~~~
jrumbut
I think the pace they throw the ball at has to have something to do with it
now too. Just in the last several years the number of pitchers throwing above
95 and above 100 seems to have dramatically increased.

This page suggests the number of 95+ mph fastballs more than doubled in 10
years: [https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/a-fast-fastball-isnt-
en...](https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/a-fast-fastball-isnt-enough-
anymore/)

It could be that making it easier to throw tricky off speed pitches would take
the load off of arms (and add some fun variety to the game).

~~~
autokad
> "This page suggests the number of 95+ mph fastballs more than doubled in 10
> years"

if true, pitchers have probably found a way to cheat which hasn't been
discovered yet (not that batters aren't cheating either)

~~~
TheCondor
A way to cheat that adds speed?

If you’ve ever paid much attention to some of the big time high schools err
“sports academies” in California where they “recruit” from the entire state
and more, it’s crazy. We are probably dramatically better at finding and
training kids to throw heat.

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ddeck
Reminiscent of the countless ball tampering incidents in the sport of cricket.
[1]

Of the England cricket team in 2005:

 _" It was my job to keep the shine on the new ball for as long as possible
with a bit of spit and a lot of polish. And through trial and error I finally
settled on the type of spit for the task at hand. It had been common knowledge
in county cricket for some time that certain sweets produced saliva which,
when applied to the ball for cleaning purposes, enabled it to keep its shine
for longer and therefore its swing." He found Murray Mints worked the best._

[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ball_tampering#Examples_and_al...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ball_tampering#Examples_and_allegations)

~~~
cardiffspaceman
How pervasive does altering the ball have to become before we start to be
suspicious if the ball _doesn 't_ look altered?

~~~
bigger_cheese
Cricket is a bit different to baseball because polishing the ball is an
accepted part of the game. By polishing one side of the ball and allowing the
other-side to naturally grow dull you alter the flight characteristics of the
ball - it's how you can achieve movement through the air or 'swing'.

The ball is rarely replaced - it is very much intended for the condition of
the ball to deteriorate over the course of an innings various tactics revolve
around when to make bowling changes as some bowlers specialize with the 'new'
ball which is shiny and hard and others have a style designed to exploit the
older ball which is softer and more dull. There are certain time milestones
that elapse in the match where captain can elect to replace a old worn ball
with a new shiny ball.

The illegal part is ball tampering rubbing some foreign substance against the
ball such as dirt or mud to weight it down or scuffing up the ball with
something (A player on the Australian team was caught using a strip of
sandpaper, which was a big scandal over here recently).

~~~
abraae
At school, where such rules were not enforced, some kids used hair gel on one
side of the ball. Most were too unskilled to really exploit it but a good
bowler could achieve what felt like a metre of savage sideways swing, enough
that a ball that started out looking like a wide would finish up whistling
past the ears of the hapless batsman.

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cleetus
If you're a baseball fan, the book 'The Glory of Their Times' mentioned in the
NYT article is a phenomenal read. It's the recollections of about 20 players
about their playing days in the early 20th century, and is a reminder of why
the game is so special.

~~~
brittonsmith
I absolutely love this book.

I read an article a few years ago that casts some doubt on Rube Marquard's
story [1], which was one of my favorites from the book. I don't think this
actually changed my opinion of the book, but just added a little more color to
it.

I think it's this one. 1\. [https://mlb.nbcsports.com/2014/03/28/whos-the-
worst-pitcher-...](https://mlb.nbcsports.com/2014/03/28/whos-the-worst-
pitcher-in-the-hall-of-fame/)

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otras
Five Thirty Eight also had a great analysis on baseball modification last
year, except the changes are by manufacturers and the MLB.

[https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/juiced-
baseballs/](https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/juiced-baseballs/)

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toomanybeersies
Interestingly, in cricket, spitballs are legal and an integral part of bowling
[1]. There's an odd middle ground where it's sort of legal to use foreign
substances like sunblock or hair gel as long as you're not overt about it.

[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ball_tampering](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ball_tampering)

~~~
manojlds
And recent issue being one of the best cricketers in the world being caught
tampering the ball with sandpaper -
[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Australian_ball-
tamperi...](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Australian_ball-
tampering_scandal)

~~~
toomanybeersies
It's appropriate that the Australian team wears yellow.

------
S_A_P
I struggle with this, I think as long as you aren't getting spit in your eye
as a batter, who cares if a pitcher throws a spit ball, a cutter, or any other
"cheat" pitch. I feel like that is living on the margins and that you probably
aren't affecting the balls flight path as much as you think you are. 60' 6"
isn't really a great distance, and batters have generally hit 1 out of every 3
or 4 times they bat since basically forever...

~~~
throwaway5752
A cutter isn't a cheat pitch, is it?

~~~
jrumbut
No it's not:
[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cut_fastball](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cut_fastball)

I do think it would make sense to give pitchers some additional grip aid like
pine tar when the temperature is below a certain level. It seems like in the
unwritten rules of the game, this is usually allowed if kept discrete.

The great body of unwritten rules is what makes baseball so enjoyable to
follow over many years but also may be contributing to the declining interest
in general. It's a slow game the rewards patience, subtlety, etc.

~~~
dylan604
Sounds like trying to order from In-n-Out. The unwritten thing is a known
thing, so why not just write it down?

~~~
naniwaduni
Maybe the sense of exclusivity is part of the appeal, too?

