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[This is part of a series exploring the Baseball Tarot. If you would like to prompt for a part of the game or a card from the deck, all the rest of the month is available for your curiosity, about either baseball or Tarot. Leave a comment with a prompt if you want in. All other comments are still welcome, of course.]
Rule 8.02 for Major League Baseball:
That said, spitballs and their family of illegal pitches are fascinating to study from a scientific perspective. The people who figured out dimples on a golf ball would probably find it an interesting prospect to see if you could scuff baseballs just right to get them to behave with predictable results based on the airflow around them. The equations are beyond my abilities to understand completely, but the question probably has applications for other technologies.
To avoid even the accidental possibility of a spitball or scuff ball affecting the outcome, the umpires are very liberal with replacement of baseballs during the game. It seems very likely, if not required, for teams to have at least a gross of baseballs available for each game to ensure that there's sufficient supply for the umpire's requests. As seen above, the umpires are also charged with the responsibility of making sure that none of the pitchers deface the ball (and that none of the hitters change the bat too much, either) to gain advantage.
It's interesting that the chosen representative of rule-breaking and cheating is something (relatively) obvious and active, rather than the many other ways that rules could be broken, the ways that teams deceive each other and lay out false of misleading information so as to prevent their opponents from predicting their actions and countering them, or on things that could be argued as part of the game rather than things to be excluded from it. After all, it only counts as cheating if you end up getting caught. Spitballs these days get caught. As do pitchers that have subtle pieces of sandpaper on their gloves, or hitters that give their bats too much pine tar.
Slightly more subtle than this, though, are the players that illegally lighten their bats so as to have a faster swing. Done well, the umpires will not suspect anything, and even if they inspect the bats beforehand, it's pretty easy to grab one from the unapproved pile by "mistake". Back when the television machines were covering all the players that were on track to exceed Roger Maris' single-season home run record, Sammy Sosa of the Chicago Cubs had a bat split on him during a game, revealing that it was corked - most of the wood from the bat had been removed and replaced with a lighter substance, such as cork. A highly-illegal bat to have in a have situation. To his credit, Mr. Sosa admitted the bat had been his, served the automatic suspension that came with it without complaint, and said the bat was supposed to only be used in practice situations so that the fans would appreciate a lot of long fly balls being hit. Because fans that come to batting practice really are expecting to see their sluggers crush balls into the stands. Why not give them what they're looking for, and use something that you can't in a game? A little deception keeps the fans happy. Happy fans keep buying tickets and merch. It's not cheating, not really, right?
And then there's the really subtle cheating stuff, the kind that you would need to know was happening before you knew it was happening. Performance-enhancing substances like steroids, blood doping, and other methods to push the body past is own natural methods using chemistry are also part of the game, and are seeping downward to places and ages where the consequences of use and abuse of these substances are long-lasting, and in several cases, deadly to the athlete or the people around them. Steroid rage and aggression, permanent damage to the development of a young body, in attempting to gain some small advantage over other players. The BALCO scandal affected many power hitters, including Barry Bonds, who denied knowingly taking steroids and other substances to increase his mass, power, and strength. Still others argue that there should be no ban on performance enhancers, because chemical alteration of the body is the next step one natural limits have been reached. And, we are told, everyone is doing it already, so the only way to be competitive is to engage in the same kind of behavior, consequences be fragged. To defeat cheating by normalizing it and making it just part of the game.
Sometimes what seems like cheating is just an excellent application of the rules and techniques. Sometimes it upsets things for a little while, but then as everyone else starts using it and developing counter-tactics, competitive balance is restored.
There aren't really any good sides to this card, and the fundamental unease of the pitcher on the mound about what they are about to do is an important part of the artwork. Then, in the background, an umpire gives a stern look, staring at the pitcher as they sweat. The presence of the spitball in your reading is a signal that someone or something is not on the up and up. And that the umpire is probably watching already, so attempting to throw a pitch will result in the consequences of cheating arriving immediately after. You can try to get away with it, if you want, but don't complain when the penalties arrive because you weren't as good as you thought at the game.
Spitballs, like steroids, are banned for good reasons related to the balance of the game. To use them is to cheat, and cheaters rarely prosper in the long-term.
Rule 8.02 for Major League Baseball:
The pitcher shall not --While the balk is an error, often brought in by pressure, to engage in the spitball or any behavior that fundamentally alters the surface of the baseball, whether by applying more to the surface or taking away bits of the surface is cheating. Altering the surface of the baseball allows its aerodynamic properties to be radically altered, producing high-velocity pitches with unexpected sharp and sudden breaks. If the game is supposed to be fair (as early rules that demand the pitcher put the ball where the hitter wants it to be suggest), throwing an unhittable and unpredictable ball seems pretty contrary to that idea. If certainly doesn't help that a person was killed by such a ball in the earlier days of the game.
(a) (1) Bring his pitching hand in contact with his mouth or lips while in the 18 foot circle surrounding the pitching rubber. EXCEPTION: Provided it is agreed to by both managers, the umpire prior to the start of a game played in cold weather, may permit the pitcher to blow on his hand.
PENALTY: For violation of this part of this rule the umpires shall immediately call a ball. However, if the pitch is made and a batter reaches first base on a hit, an error, a hit batsman or otherwise, and no other runner is put out before advancing at least one base, the play shall proceed without reference to the violation. Repeated offenders shall be subject to a fine by the league president.
(2) expectorate on the ball, either hand or his glove;
(3) rub the ball on his glove, person or clothing;
(4) apply a foreign substance of any kind to the ball;
(5) deface the ball in any manner; or
(6) deliver a ball altered in a manner prescribed by Rule 8.02(a)(2) through (5) or what is called the “shine” ball, “spit” ball, “mud” ball or “emery” ball. The pitcher is allowed to rub the ball between his bare hands.
- Rule 8.02(a) Comment: If at any time the ball hits the rosin bag it is in play. In the case of rain or wet field, the umpire may instruct the pitcher to carry the rosin bag in his hip pocket. A pitcher may use the rosin bag for the purpose of applying rosin to his bare hand or hands. Neither the pitcher nor any other player shall dust the ball with the rosin bag; neither shall the pitcher nor any other player be permitted to apply rosin from the bag to his glove or dust any part of his uniform with the rosin bag.
PENALTY: For violation of any part of Rules 8.02(a)(2) through (6)
(a) the pitcher shall be ejected immediately from the game and shall be suspended automatically. In National Association Leagues, the automatic suspension shall be for 10 games.
(b) If a play follows the violation called by the umpire, the manager of the team at bat may advise the plate umpire-in-chief that he elects to accept the play. Such election shall be made immediately at the end of the play. However, if the batter reaches first base on a hit, an error, a base on balls, a hit batsman, or otherwise, and no other runner is put out before advancing at least one base, the play shall proceed without reference to the violation.
(c) Even though the team at bat elects to take the play, the violation shall be recognized and the penalties in subsection (a) will still be in effect.
(d) If the manager of the team at bat does not elect to accept the play, the umpire-inchief shall call an automatic ball and, if there are any runners on base, a balk.
(e) The umpire shall be sole judge on whether any portion of this rule has been violated.
- Rules 8.02(a)(2) through 8.02(a)(6) Comment: If a pitcher violates either Rule 8.02(a)(2) or 8.02(a)(3) and, in the judgment of the umpire, the pitcher did not intend, by his act, to alter the characteristics of a pitched ball, then the umpire may, in his discretion, warn the pitcher in lieu of applying the penalty set forth for violations of 8.02(a)(2) through 8.02(a)(6). If the pitcher persists in violating either of those Rules, however, the umpire should then apply the penalty.
(b)Have on his person, or in his possession, any foreign substance. For infraction of this section (b) the penalty shall be immediate ejection from the game. In addition, the pitcher shall be suspended automatically. In National Association Leagues, the automatic suspension shall be for 10 games.
That said, spitballs and their family of illegal pitches are fascinating to study from a scientific perspective. The people who figured out dimples on a golf ball would probably find it an interesting prospect to see if you could scuff baseballs just right to get them to behave with predictable results based on the airflow around them. The equations are beyond my abilities to understand completely, but the question probably has applications for other technologies.
To avoid even the accidental possibility of a spitball or scuff ball affecting the outcome, the umpires are very liberal with replacement of baseballs during the game. It seems very likely, if not required, for teams to have at least a gross of baseballs available for each game to ensure that there's sufficient supply for the umpire's requests. As seen above, the umpires are also charged with the responsibility of making sure that none of the pitchers deface the ball (and that none of the hitters change the bat too much, either) to gain advantage.
It's interesting that the chosen representative of rule-breaking and cheating is something (relatively) obvious and active, rather than the many other ways that rules could be broken, the ways that teams deceive each other and lay out false of misleading information so as to prevent their opponents from predicting their actions and countering them, or on things that could be argued as part of the game rather than things to be excluded from it. After all, it only counts as cheating if you end up getting caught. Spitballs these days get caught. As do pitchers that have subtle pieces of sandpaper on their gloves, or hitters that give their bats too much pine tar.
Slightly more subtle than this, though, are the players that illegally lighten their bats so as to have a faster swing. Done well, the umpires will not suspect anything, and even if they inspect the bats beforehand, it's pretty easy to grab one from the unapproved pile by "mistake". Back when the television machines were covering all the players that were on track to exceed Roger Maris' single-season home run record, Sammy Sosa of the Chicago Cubs had a bat split on him during a game, revealing that it was corked - most of the wood from the bat had been removed and replaced with a lighter substance, such as cork. A highly-illegal bat to have in a have situation. To his credit, Mr. Sosa admitted the bat had been his, served the automatic suspension that came with it without complaint, and said the bat was supposed to only be used in practice situations so that the fans would appreciate a lot of long fly balls being hit. Because fans that come to batting practice really are expecting to see their sluggers crush balls into the stands. Why not give them what they're looking for, and use something that you can't in a game? A little deception keeps the fans happy. Happy fans keep buying tickets and merch. It's not cheating, not really, right?
And then there's the really subtle cheating stuff, the kind that you would need to know was happening before you knew it was happening. Performance-enhancing substances like steroids, blood doping, and other methods to push the body past is own natural methods using chemistry are also part of the game, and are seeping downward to places and ages where the consequences of use and abuse of these substances are long-lasting, and in several cases, deadly to the athlete or the people around them. Steroid rage and aggression, permanent damage to the development of a young body, in attempting to gain some small advantage over other players. The BALCO scandal affected many power hitters, including Barry Bonds, who denied knowingly taking steroids and other substances to increase his mass, power, and strength. Still others argue that there should be no ban on performance enhancers, because chemical alteration of the body is the next step one natural limits have been reached. And, we are told, everyone is doing it already, so the only way to be competitive is to engage in the same kind of behavior, consequences be fragged. To defeat cheating by normalizing it and making it just part of the game.
Sometimes what seems like cheating is just an excellent application of the rules and techniques. Sometimes it upsets things for a little while, but then as everyone else starts using it and developing counter-tactics, competitive balance is restored.
There aren't really any good sides to this card, and the fundamental unease of the pitcher on the mound about what they are about to do is an important part of the artwork. Then, in the background, an umpire gives a stern look, staring at the pitcher as they sweat. The presence of the spitball in your reading is a signal that someone or something is not on the up and up. And that the umpire is probably watching already, so attempting to throw a pitch will result in the consequences of cheating arriving immediately after. You can try to get away with it, if you want, but don't complain when the penalties arrive because you weren't as good as you thought at the game.
Spitballs, like steroids, are banned for good reasons related to the balance of the game. To use them is to cheat, and cheaters rarely prosper in the long-term.
