Emery ball

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Russ Ford developed the emery ball.

An emery ball is an illegal

emery board or sandpaper. 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 saliva smooths the baseball, while the emery paper roughens it.

Russ Ford discovered the emery ball in the minor leagues 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, 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, and led to the banning of the spitball.

Development

In 1907,

emery paper in his baseball glove.[4]

Ford joined the

Washington Senators and Falkenberg pitched against them during the 1914 season, Senators' manager Clark Griffith noticed that he had the same pitch as Ford and questioned Foster, who said nothing.[6]

Another origin story suggests that

Cleveland Indians discovered the pitch and taught it to Vean Gregg. When Gregg went to the Boston Red Sox, he taught it to Smoky Joe Wood.[7] In The Neyer/James Guide to Pitchers, Rob Neyer and Bill James refer to Kahler as the second pitcher to use the emery ball.[8] Other pitchers who used the emery ball included Lefty Leifield and Johnny Lush.[9]

Public discovery

On September 12, 1914, during a game between 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.[3][10]

Ray Keating was caught using the emery ball.

Connolly sent two scuffed balls and a piece of emery paper to Ban Johnson, the president of the American League.[10] Johnson declared that players caught using the emery ball would face a $100 fine ($3,042 today) and a 30-day suspension.[11] James A. Gilmore barred its use in the Federal League in 1915, also mandating a 30-day suspension, but with a $200 ($6,024 in current dollar terms) fine.[12] The National League also barred its use.[13] Umpires began taking scuffed baseballs out of play, which doubled the number of baseballs required for a game.[14]

Following the discovery of the emery ball, Griffith began to call for outlawing the spitball,

rules of baseball, Rule 8.02(6) specifically bars "what is called the shine ball, spit ball, mud ball or emery ball."[16] A 2007 alteration of the baseball rules changed the punishment to a mandatory ejection and 10-game suspension.[17]

Further use

Whitey Ford was accused of scuffing baseballs in his later career.[18] He acknowledged using a custom ring and a rasp to scuff baseballs later in his career,[19] and said that he sometimes used his belt buckle or catcher Elston Howard's shin guards. He denied doing it in 1961, the year he won the Cy Young Award.[20]

thumbtack taped to his thumb and sandpaper hidden in his glove on September 30, 1980.[24] He was suspended for 10 games.[25]

In 1985, Jim Frey, the manager of the Chicago Cubs, accused Mike Scott of the Houston Astros of using sandpaper to scuff baseballs.[26] The New York Mets accused Scott of using the emery ball in the 1986 National League Championship Series.[27] 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."[28]

Joe Niekro of the Minnesota Twins was caught doctoring baseballs in 1987.[29] During a game, umpire Tim Tschida asked him to empty his pockets and a nail file and sandpaper that had been touched up to be flesh-colored came out.[29] Niekro, who also threw a knuckleball, claimed that he used the nail file on his nails for the knuckleball.[30] The sandpaper had been glued to Niekro's hand.[29] A week after Niekro was caught, Kevin Gross of the Philadelphia Phillies was caught with a piece of sandpaper in his glove.[31][32] Brian Moehler of the Detroit Tigers was caught with sandpaper in his glove in 1999, and served a ten-game suspension.[33]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Doctoring the Baseball". Major League Baseball. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d "Sweeney Tells About The Emery Ball". Intelligencer Journal. May 19, 1916. p. 8. Retrieved April 23, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b Evans, Billy. "Back In 1910 Russ Ford Discovered Emery Ball, Detected This Season". Dayton Daily News. p. 23. Retrieved April 26, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ ""Emery Ball" His Secret". The Kansas City Times. January 6, 1916. p. 10. Retrieved April 23, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Emery Ball Was Used By Ford". The Morning News. September 23, 1914. p. 13. Retrieved April 23, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ a b "History of Emery Ball". Chattanooga Daily Times. October 11, 1914. p. 28. Retrieved April 23, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Emery Ball Is Latest Worry Of The Umpires". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. October 16, 1914. p. 9. Retrieved April 23, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ISBN 9781439103777
    . Retrieved April 30, 2021.
  9. ^ "Umpires Can't Stop Use Of Emery Ball". The Los Angeles Times. March 2, 1915. p. 21. Retrieved April 26, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ a b "The Emery Ball is the Newest Wrinkle". New Castle Herald. September 14, 1914. p. 11. Retrieved April 23, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Ban Johnson Bars Use Of Emery Ball". The Standard Union. September 20, 1914. p. 10. Retrieved April 23, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Sport Snapshots". The Times-Tribune. March 4, 1915. p. 15. Retrieved April 23, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ Cronin, R.A. (March 8, 1915). "In the Looking Glass". The Oregon Daily Journal. p. 8. Retrieved April 23, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ Sanborn, I.E. (June 10, 1917). "Placing of Ban on Emery Ball Proves Costly". Great Falls Tribune. p. 12. Retrieved April 23, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Would Abolish Spit Ball". The Kansas City Star. p. 4. Retrieved April 26, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ Hamilton, Eric (August 15, 2015). "Explaining the notorious and mysterious spitball". Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
  17. ^ "Thumbs up: MLB makes 1st rules changes in 11 years". ESPN.com. Associated Press. February 17, 2007. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
  18. ^ "Farrell's Fast One Alive; Bunker Controls Curve". The Miami News. May 27, 1964. p. 2B. Retrieved April 23, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ Kepner, Tyler (October 8, 1960). "In a Golden Era for the Yankees, the Mound Belonged to Whitey Ford". The New York Times. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  20. ^ Jaffe, Jay (May 3, 2013). "A gripping saga: 11 tales of pitchers using spitters, sandpaper and scuffing". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
  21. ^ Hagen, Paul (May 20, 1974). "Braves rough up Sutton, L.A., 4–2". The San Bernardino County Sun. p. B-8. Retrieved April 23, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ^ "Did Sutton really scuff baseballs?". The Billings Gazette. Associated Press. July 16, 1978. p. 5-E. Retrieved April 23, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ^ Chass, Murray (July 6, 1979). "Spitballs: Fiction Or Fact". The Kansas City Times. p. D-1. Retrieved April 23, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. ^ Reeves, Jim (February 27, 1981). "New Ranger Honeycutt out to erase memories of 1980". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. p. E-1. Retrieved April 23, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  25. ^ "10-day suspension 'tacked on'". The Spokesman-Review. October 2, 1980. p. 32. Retrieved April 23, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  26. ^ "Frey Suspects Astro Of Scuffing Baseball". The Town Talk. June 5, 1985. p. B-2. Retrieved April 23, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  27. ^ Harig, Bob (October 14, 1986). "Mets accuse Houston's Mike Scott of scuffing baseball". The Evening Independent. p. C-1. Retrieved April 26, 2021 – via Google News Archive Search.
  28. ^ Calcaterra, Craig (November 4, 2011). "Knock me over with a feather: Mike Scott admits to scuffing baseballs". NBC Sports. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  29. ^ a b c 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
  30. ^ "Joe Niekro's Suspension Is Upheld by AL President Brown After Hearing". The Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. August 9, 1987. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
  31. ^ "Phillie Is Latest to Be Ejected : Sandpaper Substance Found in Gross' Glove". The Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. August 11, 1987. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
  32. ^ Bertha, Mike (January 21, 2015). "MLB's own 'Deflate-gate?' Here are a few other players who tried to doctor equipment". MLB.com. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  33. ^ Lowe, John (May 3, 1999). "Moehler: Appeal unlikely for paper". Detroit Free Press. p. 5D. Retrieved April 26, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
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