The Cardinals are visiting my Nationals for a 3 game series. It would be so cool to see Dusty Baker have the ump check out Molina's equipment for any pine tar, etc..
How hard is it for any catcher to 'doctor' the ball after a setup pitch?
Well, if you hit the link I showed you'd have read about Elston Howard scraping a ball against his
shin guard buckles before throwing back to Whitey Ford, when it was late in Ford's career and the
Hall of Famer was looking for any edge he could get before his elbow finally put paid to his career.
Or about Ray Fosse's pocket-edge Vaseline-like goo ring on days he caught Gaylord Perry.
According to Jim Bouton (
Ball Four), Howard had another trick he'd use for Ford: if grounds-
keepers wetted down the dirt around the plate a little excessively, Howard could find a particular
spot into which to dip a ball before returning it to Ford. Thus Ford's mud ball. The little patch
would stick on the ball long enough that Angels pitcher/flake Bo Belinsky once said, "If Whitey
left the ball on the mound and the mud patch was still on it, I had two quick outs waiting for
me."
I referred to a little patch of white on Yadier Molina's chest protector at the spot where that ball
got stuck. It wouldn't be difficult for a catcher to apply something to his protector and give
a quick surreptitious rub on the stuff before throwing back to his pitcher, assuming his pitcher
were inclined that way.
Most of the time, though, the pitchers come up with their own little tricks. Whitey Ford once
got away with what you might call a ring ball---his wedding ring had a tiny rasp in it and Ford
would use that to cut a ball. At least, he did until an umpire caught him and, not willing to
toss Ford from the game, simply told him during an inning change, "Whitey, you ought to head
back to the clubhouse first, I think your jock strap needs an adjustment. And when you come
back you better not have that ring."
Preacher Roe, once a Brooklyn Dodgers legend, was so well aware of pitchers trying tricks
and subterfuge that he gambled the umpires would never think to look at the most obvious
move---he'd spit right into his glove after chewing up some choice Beech-Nut gum. Roe
eventually admitted to what he was doing after he retired, collaborating with
New York
Daily News legend Dick Young on a
Sport article, "The Outlaw Pitch Was My Money
Pitch." When he came to the Dodgers in a deal with the Pirates, he sought out catcher Roy
Campanella and asked if he could handle the wet one. No problem, Campy replied: "I caught
'em for years in the coloured leagues."
Then there was the day Tommy John, at the time a Yankee, squared off against Don Sutton,
then with the Angels. George Steinbrenner harassed manager Lou Piniella about Sutton by
phone from Tampa, until Piniella finally told him, "George, if I have the umpires search
Sutton then they'll search T.J. and everybody loses. Whatever they're doing, T.J.'s doing it
better, so let's leave it at that." The Yankees went on to win, and a scout in the press box
cracked, "Tommy John against Don Sutton? If anyone can find one smooth ball from that
game he ought to send it to Cooperstown."
Then there was the day Gaylord Perry ran into the plate umpire who'd had him frisked
on the mound the night before, when the two men were in town before the coming night's
game. They chatted amiable until the ump mentioned his son's Little League team getting
clobbered several nights running or some such thing. The ump's son was one of the
pitchers. "Gaylord," the ump asked sincerely, "could you teach my kid to throw that thing?"
