Emery Ball
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An emery ball is an illegal pitch in
baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
, in which the
ball A ball is a round object (usually spherical, but sometimes ovoid) with several uses. It is used in ball games, where the play of the game follows the state of the ball as it is hit, kicked or thrown by players. Balls can also be used for s ...
has been altered by scuffing it with a rough surface, such as an emery board or
sandpaper upright=1.35, Sheets of sandpaper with different grit sizes (40 (coarse), 80, 150, 240, 600 (fine)) Sandpaper, also known as coated abrasive or emery paper, is a type of material that consists of sheets of paper or cloth with an abrasive substa ...
. 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''. The emery ball differs from the
spitball 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 ...
, in which the ball is doctored by applying saliva or
Vaseline Vaseline ()Also pronounced with the main stress on the last syllable . is an American brand of petroleum jelly-based products owned by British multinational company Unilever. Products include plain petroleum jelly and a selection of skin creams, ...
. Vaseline or saliva smooths the baseball, while the emery paper roughens it. Russ Ford discovered the emery ball in the
minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...
in 1907 when he saw what a scuff on a baseball did to its movement. He began keeping emery paper in his baseball glove. Though he initially kept the pitch a secret, he had to inform his
catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...
, Ed Sweeney, about it. Sweeney taught it to other pitchers, and the pitch was discovered when an umpire found emery paper in Ray Keating's glove in 1914. The pitch was outlawed, which led to the banning of the spitball.


Development

In 1907, Russ Ford, a
pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...
for the Atlanta Crackers of the
Southern Association The Southern Association (SA) was a higher-level minor league in American organized baseball from 1901 through 1961. For most of its existence, the Southern Association was two steps below the Major Leagues; it was graded Class B (1902-19 ...
, was warming up under a
grandstand A grandstand is a normally permanent structure for seating spectators, typically at sports stadiums and including both auto racing and horse racing. The grandstand is in essence like a single section of a stadium, but differs from a stadium i ...
with
catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...
Ed Sweeney when a ball struck a concrete pillar. He threw the ball again and noticed that it moved differently than before. Ford soon learned that by making a rough patch on one side of the ball, he could use the rough spot to get a firmer grip on the ball and increase the spin rate as he threw, making it harder to hit. Ford first used the pitch in a game in 1909, hiding a piece of
emery paper upright=1.35, Sheets of sandpaper with different grit sizes (40 (coarse), 80, 150, 240, 600 (fine)) Sandpaper, also known as coated abrasive or emery paper, is a type of material that consists of sheets of paper or cloth with an abrasive substa ...
in his
baseball glove A baseball glove or mitt is a large glove worn by baseball players of the defending team, which assists players in catching and fielding balls hit by a Batter (baseball), batter or thrown by a teammate. Gloves are traditionally made of leather; b ...
. Ford joined the
New York Highlanders The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. They are one ...
of the
American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...
in 1910. He told Sweeney, who also played for the Highlanders, how he had perfected the pitch and taught him how to catch it. Ford publicly claimed to be throwing a
spitball 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 ...
, which was legal at the time. According to Sweeney, only two others on the team knew: Eddie Foster and Earle Gardner. They were roommates when the Yankees played on the road, and Ford told them about the pitch. Gardner went to the Toledo Iron Men of the American Association in 1912, where he taught the pitch to
Cy Falkenberg Frederick Peter "Cy" Falkenberg (December 17, 1879 – April 15, 1961) was an American professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1903 to 1917 for the Pittsburgh Pirates of the National League, the Washington Se ...
. Other pitchers began to learn to throw the emery ball, and it was suspected that Sweeney taught them. Foster never told anybody about the pitch; when Foster played for the Washington Senators and Falkenberg pitched against them during the 1914 season, Senators'
manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...
Clark Griffith noticed that he had the same pitch as Ford and questioned Foster, who said nothing. Another origin story suggests that George Kahler of the
Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...
discovered the pitch and taught it to Vean Gregg. When Gregg went to the
Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...
, he taught it to
Smoky Joe Wood Howard Ellsworth "Smoky Joe" Wood (October 25, 1889 – July 27, 1985) was an American professional baseball player for 14 years. He played for the Boston Red Sox from 1908 to 1915, where he was primarily a pitcher, and for the Cleveland In ...
. In '' The Neyer/James Guide to Pitchers'', Rob Neyer and
Bill James George William James (born October 5, 1949) is an American baseball writer, historian, and statistician whose work has been widely influential. Since 1977, James has written more than two dozen books about baseball history and statistics. His a ...
refer to Kahler as the second pitcher to use the emery ball. Other pitchers who used the emery ball included Lefty Leifield and Johnny Lush.


Public discovery

On September 12, 1914, during a game between the
Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, they became the Oakland ...
and
New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...
, Philadelphia's Eddie Collins struck out against Ray Keating of the Yankees in the first inning. Suspicious of how Keating made his pitches move, Collins did not swing at a pitch in his second
at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens upon completion of his turn at bat, ...
. After Collins struck out for the second time, he asked the home plate umpire, Tom Connolly, to inspect the ball. Connolly took the ball and found it to be scuffed. He inspected Keating's glove and found a piece of emery paper inside. Connolly sent two scuffed balls and a piece of emery paper to
Ban Johnson Byron Bancroft "Ban" Johnson (January 5, 1864 – March 28, 1931) was an American executive in professional baseball who served as the founder and first president of the American League (AL). Johnson developed the AL—a descendant of th ...
, the president of the American League. Johnson declared that players caught using the emery ball would face a $100 fine ($ today) and a 30-day suspension. James A. Gilmore barred its use in the
Federal League The Federal League of Base Ball Clubs, known simply as the Federal League, was an American professional baseball league that played its first season as a minor league in 1913 and operated as a "third major league", in competition with the e ...
in 1915, also mandating a 30-day suspension, but with a fine of $200 ($ in current dollar terms). The
National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...
also barred its use. Umpires began taking scuffed baseballs out of play, which doubled the number of baseballs required for a game. Following the discovery of the emery ball, Griffith began to call for outlawing the spitball, which occurred after the 1919 season. In the rules of baseball, Rule 8.02(6) specifically bars "what is called the shine ball, spit ball, mud ball or emery ball." A 2007 alteration of the baseball rules changed the punishment to a mandatory ejection and 10-game suspension.


Further use

Whitey Ford Edward Charles "Whitey" Ford (October 21, 1928 – October 8, 2020), nicknamed "the Chairman of the Board", was an American professional baseball pitcher who played his entire 16-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the New York Yankees. ...
was accused of scuffing baseballs in his later career. He acknowledged using a custom ring and a
rasp A rasp is a coarse form of file used for shaping wood, metal, or other material. Typically a hand tool, it consists of a generally tapered rectangular, round, or half-round sectioned bar of case hardened steel with distinct, individually cu ...
to scuff baseballs later in his career, and said that he sometimes used his
belt buckle A belt buckle is a buckle, a clasp for fastening two ends, such as of straps or a belt (clothing), belt, in which a device attached to one of the ends is fitted or coupled to the other. The word enters Middle English via Old French and the ...
or catcher
Elston Howard Elston Gene Howard (February 23, 1929 – December 14, 1980) was an American professional baseball player who was a catcher and a left fielder. During a 14-year baseball career, he played in the Negro league baseball, Negro leagues and Major Leag ...
's
shin guard A shin guard or shin pad is a piece of equipment worn on the front of an athlete's shin to protect it from injury. These are commonly used in sports including association football, baseball, ice hockey, field hockey, lacrosse, cricket and mou ...
s. He denied doing it in 1961, the year he won the
Cy Young Award The Cy Young Award is given annually to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball (MLB), one each for the American League (AL) and National League (baseball), National League (NL). The award was introduced in 1956 by Commissioner of Baseball ( ...
.
Don Sutton Donald Howard Sutton (April 2, 1945 – January 19, 2021) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Sutton won a total of 324 games, pitched 58 s ...
was often accused of scuffing baseballs during his career. Tommy John was also accused.
Rick Honeycutt Frederick Wayne Honeycutt (born June 29, 1954), nicknamed "Honey", is an American former professional baseball coach and pitcher. Honeycutt pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for six different teams over 21 years, from 1977 to 1997. He pitc ...
was caught with a
thumbtack A drawing pin (in British English) or thumb tack (in North American English), also called a push-pin, is a short, small pin or nail with a flat, broad head that can be pressed into place with pressure from the thumb, often used for hanging ...
taped to his thumb and sandpaper hidden in his glove on September 30, 1980. He was suspended for 10 games. In 1985, Jim Frey, the
manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...
of the
Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...
, accused Mike Scott of the
Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...
of using sandpaper to scuff baseballs. The
New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...
accused Scott of using the emery ball in the
1986 National League Championship Series The 1986 National League Championship Series was a best-of-seven postseason series in Major League Baseball’s 1986 postseason between the NL East champion New York Mets and NL West champion Houston Astros. It was the 18th NLCS and the first ...
. In an interview in 2011, Scott said, "I've thrown balls that were scuffed but I haven't scuffed every ball that I've thrown." Joe Niekro of the
Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...
was caught doctoring baseballs in 1987.Reusse, Patrick
Brew chief: Former MLB ump and St. Paul native Tim Tschida goes from behind the plate to behind the bar
Star Tribune, July 11, 2021
During a game, umpire
Tim Tschida Timothy Joseph Tschida ( ; born May 4, 1960) is an American former umpire in Major League Baseball. He joined the American League's full-time staff in 1986, and worked in both major leagues from 2000 until his retirement following the 2012 sea ...
asked him to empty his pockets and a nail file and sandpaper that had been touched up to be flesh-colored came out. Niekro, who also threw a
knuckleball A knuckleball or knuckler is a baseball pitch (baseball), pitch thrown to minimize the spin of the ball in flight, causing an erratic, unpredictable motion. The air flow over a seam of the ball causes the ball to change from Laminar flow, lamin ...
, claimed that he used the nail file on his nails for the knuckleball. The sandpaper had been glued to Niekro's hand. A week after Niekro was caught, Kevin Gross of the
Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...
was caught with a piece of sandpaper in his glove.
Brian Moehler Brian Merritt Moehler (born December 31, 1971) is an American former starting pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 15 seasons. Moehler pitched for the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He was selected by the Detroit T ...
of the
Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...
was caught with sandpaper in his glove in 1999, and served a ten-game suspension.


See also

*
Cheating in baseball Baseball personnel have cheated by deliberately violating or circumventing the baseball rules, game's rules to gain an unfair advantage against an opponent. Examples of cheating include doctoring the baseball (ball), ball, doctoring baseball bat, ...
*
Ball tampering In the sport of cricket, ball tampering is an action in which a fielder illegally alters the condition of the ball. The primary motivation of ball tampering is to interfere with the aerodynamics of the ball to aid swing bowling. Definition Und ...
, the equivalent in
cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...


References

{{Baseball Baseball pitches Banned sports tactics Cheating in baseball Major League Baseball controversies