Mariano Rivera Spitball Controversy: What’s Wrong With Spitting on the Baseball?
Baseball, Video October 20th. 2009, 1:08pmMariano Rivera spit on a baseball yesterday. Spitballs are illegal. So by spitting on a baseball, Mariano Rivera cheated. Rivera’s spit is quickly becoming the most-dissected loogie in baseball since Keith Hernandez hocked one in the general direction of Newman. Rivera’s greatness is being questioned. How long has Mariano Rivera been getting away with the spitball? Can anyone think of a sufficient punishment? [Not Qualified to Comment]
58 Responses to “Mariano Rivera Spitball Controversy: What’s Wrong With Spitting on the Baseball?”
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October 20th, 2009 at 1:11 pm
God damnit I wish I didn’t have class right now.
My thoughts: I don’t think it’s a huge deal.
October 20th, 2009 at 1:11 pm
you can’t even see it hit the ball.
October 20th, 2009 at 1:11 pm
Too bad that dry Arizona air took the cut off of his spitter in Game 7 back in 2001, eh?
October 20th, 2009 at 1:13 pm
3 game suspension to be served immediately for desecrating the great game of basbeball, my childhood memories are tainted.
/baseball writer’d
October 20th, 2009 at 1:13 pm
well if you spit on the ball it puts more movement on the ball.
spoken like a true yankee fan. if it was the exact same shot of someone from the red sox you would be calling for them to be barred from baseball.
October 20th, 2009 at 1:14 pm
A. It’s not a big deal.
B. You got to punish him.
October 20th, 2009 at 1:15 pm
whatever mrejr. you can’t tell, plain and simple. tell me when something happens to kenny rogers and his pine tar against the yankees.
October 20th, 2009 at 1:15 pm
you can’t even see it hit the ball.
there might have been a second loogie lurking in the infield
the way he looked around before he did it makes me think he knew what he was doing
/besides, all the steroids he took for 10 years helped him out way more than a hocker on a baseball
October 20th, 2009 at 1:15 pm
vagisil and snot work better
/eddie harris
October 20th, 2009 at 1:15 pm
what happened to kenny rogers when he was caught with pine tar on his hand?
October 20th, 2009 at 1:16 pm
I love it when adults use “whatever”
/sarcasm
UFC 104 Preview coming sometime from CORM?
October 20th, 2009 at 1:16 pm
Yep, he’s a cheater.
October 20th, 2009 at 1:16 pm
pauses in mid air, mind you.
need more definitive evidence.
October 20th, 2009 at 1:16 pm
Which put me on a path of rage when nothing was done about it. We’re living in a society. We have rules. Two game suspension!
October 20th, 2009 at 1:17 pm
nothing
October 20th, 2009 at 1:17 pm
Him playing Connie Hilton is really fucking up Mad Men for me.
October 20th, 2009 at 1:17 pm
What an escape that was. Ridiculous.
October 20th, 2009 at 1:18 pm
Of course, nothing happened mostly because Leyland and LaRussa make sweet love and LaRussa didn’t push the issue. If he had there probably would have been a different outcome.
October 20th, 2009 at 1:19 pm
im not saying it is a big beal but it looks like he is spitting on the ball. but i have seen other pitchers blow into their hand while holding a baseball because it was cold. they could have easily spit on the ball then to. not an issue.
October 20th, 2009 at 1:20 pm
I just sit here with 40 other students in front of 40 other computers acting like were following the powerpoints on our computers, but i sit in the back and realize everybody is facebooking, youtubeing, and me TBLing. Why i come to this class is fucking retarded.
October 20th, 2009 at 1:20 pm
Horrible plastic surgery.
/what wrong Kenny?
October 20th, 2009 at 1:21 pm
Then took a left turn and struck the baseball between the third and fourth stitches.
October 20th, 2009 at 1:23 pm
you can spit on the ball if you are off the mound
/true story
October 20th, 2009 at 1:24 pm
Well I was blasted for weighing in on the stealing signs post (there’s no rule against it right?).
But here, he’s definitely violating a rule. Is it a huge deal? No, not really. Either is a horsecollar tackle, but both are and should be punishable.
October 20th, 2009 at 1:27 pm
Taguchi, I think the same thing watching Mad Men. I keep waiting for him to say “You think Jesus Christ can’t hit a curve ball”
October 20th, 2009 at 1:27 pm
if mariano is not suspended and he closes out the series it’s an issue. if he doesn’t have any effect on the outcome of the series then it’s a dead issue.
they should just suspend him, but being that bob watson is head of discipline, and the networks need the yankees in the WS it’s not happening.
October 20th, 2009 at 1:29 pm
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew/post/Internet-controversy-of-the-day-Does-Rivera-thr?urn=mlb,197070
October 20th, 2009 at 1:31 pm
Jesus Christ… Pitchers “wet” the ball all the time. It’s a common method of rubbing the ball down. Is this really a story? The Yankees lose ONE game and the fucking sky starts falling. Un-fucking-believable.
October 20th, 2009 at 1:32 pm
This is hilarious.
October 20th, 2009 at 1:32 pm
If spitting on the ball was his intention, that move was ballsy as fuck. It’s not like the field umpires don’t have a Rivera directly in their line of sight.
October 20th, 2009 at 1:33 pm
I’m sad. Because I don’t care anymore. The teams left in the postseason and 4 Yankees games on national television a week tend to do that to me.
/baseball used to be my favorite sport
//seriously–by a mile
October 20th, 2009 at 1:33 pm
The internet would officially blow up if Rivera ever got suspended and the Angels won the Series
/and I’d love it
October 20th, 2009 at 1:37 pm
Late to this party.
Pitchers actually need to have permission from the home plate umpire before they can blow on their hand, and that permission is only granted in cold weather conditions, predetermined before the game starts.
October 20th, 2009 at 1:38 pm
you can spit on the ball if you are off the mound
Thank God someone else knows this. I was seriously about to give up on baseball related posts on this site.
October 20th, 2009 at 1:38 pm
What about licking their fingers?
October 20th, 2009 at 1:38 pm
back in the 90s when it was raining and glavine/maddox were pitching an infielder would walk the ball to the mound after the throw around to keep it moist.
October 20th, 2009 at 1:41 pm
The calls going into WFAN are amazing.
Someone just suggested Jerry Hairston stand on the warning track.
And Francesa just said he doesn’t know which game the “spitting clip” is from. He’s insane.
October 20th, 2009 at 1:43 pm
Tony from the Bronx is gonna say that Chad Curtis/Tim Raines/Ricky Ledee would have got to that ball.
October 20th, 2009 at 1:44 pm
It’s not that big a deal, but it does look like he sort of looks around first to make sure nobody’s watching, doesn’t it?
October 20th, 2009 at 1:44 pm
The graphic FOX has up next to him that lists his stats from this postseason doesn’t give him a clue?
October 20th, 2009 at 1:44 pm
has anyone called in with trade ideas yet?
Joe D from Staten Island here, yanks should trade jorge posada and andy pettitte to the giants for tim lincecum and matt cain, makes sense to me, why wouldn’t the giants do it? i’ll hang up and listen.
October 20th, 2009 at 1:44 pm
The way Rivera looks around right before he does it suspicious to me. As in that’s the exact same way I’d look around before I did something illegal.
October 20th, 2009 at 1:45 pm
page 3 has the rule in question along with a 10 game suspension???? Expectorate: hawk a loogie.
If it werent deliberate, why not turn your head…and hawk one at a-rod?
October 20th, 2009 at 1:46 pm
i suck
/10 minute minor for stupidity
October 20th, 2009 at 1:47 pm
There are people out there that know how to do these things. I don’t know. But you have people that can doctor video to make it look that way. All these crazy people with a computer. i didn’t see this live and i watched it.
/Francesa’d
October 20th, 2009 at 1:48 pm
Whats ‘dis stuff about a spit bawl?
/Francesa’d
October 20th, 2009 at 1:50 pm
Parcells wouldn’t allow this.
October 20th, 2009 at 2:07 pm
I’m not seeing that in the provided passage.
/6th grade reading comprehension
October 20th, 2009 at 2:12 pm
I believe the rule is that you can wet your fingers if you’re off the mound.
October 20th, 2009 at 2:16 pm
Because the expensive Delaware mud used to rub down baseballs prior to MLB games can’t be used in all levels of the game, spit and dirt are often used as substitutes. Players (not just pitchers) openly spit on the ball or their hands, then “rub” the leather to reduce the slippery feel the fresh leather naturally produces. This is not a “spit” ball. A “spit” ball is when a substantial amount of saliva is placed on the ball with the intention of altering the ball’s weight, and it’s flight once thrown.
The rule book in baseball is almost useless sometimes. For instance, the “check swing” is never clearly defined. Players, coaches, managers, etc all know this, but it never fails to get over hyped in the media.
October 20th, 2009 at 2:16 pm
There is roughly 8 million minutes of footage of Mariano Rivera on the mound. I have faith in the great American need to stir shit up. If Mariano has been spitting on the ball regularly in his career, there will be plenty of video out there shortly. If nothing shows up, I say we all go about our day.
October 20th, 2009 at 2:24 pm
If you’re talking about rubbing down new balls prior to games, I agree with you but players do not openly spit on the ball or their hands during the game.
October 20th, 2009 at 2:31 pm
you have to talk to my gf about rubbing down balls before showtime. i don’t know anything about it.
October 20th, 2009 at 2:37 pm
ok… So when a pitcher walks off the mound and legally licks his fingers, you don’t think any of that spit made it to the ball? Why lick his fingers then? When a manager comes out to talk/remove a pitcher from the game, what’s the first thing they do with the ball when they take it away from the current pitcher? Don’t think they spit in their hands prior to walking out?
There are several rules in the rulebook that state penalities for delay of game? Are those ever followed?
No, you cannot directly spit on the ball while on the field. But it’s common practice in baseball to “wet” your hands or the ball for better grip, not to throw a “spit” ball.
/enough about spit
October 20th, 2009 at 2:42 pm
Ill, appreciate the knowledge..some interesting tidbits there.
But we’ll have to disagree about one thing: I see a major distinction between “wetting” and flatly spitting on a ball.
October 20th, 2009 at 2:45 pm
I’m confused, illformula.
October 20th, 2009 at 3:03 pm
@groin- the first referenced lower levels of the game (HS, college, fall/summer leagues). The 2nd is strictly towards professional ball.
@cursed- The intent is what is important. If Rivera did spit on the ball and has been a master of the “spit” ball his entire career, then people can scorn him all they want. But why is this the first evidence we’ve seen considering the length of his career?
October 20th, 2009 at 10:09 pm
Didn’t get a chance to see the video, but all of this arguing seems nonsensicle. You are allowed to spit on the ball as long as you aren’t on the mound. Also, you can lick you fingers and then touch the ball when not on the mound. That is why you see pitchers, when on the mound, lick their hand, then wipe their hand on their pants.