Spit on ball

[hoopsnyoyo]

Noticed this weekend, opposing coach would pick up game ball to hand to his pitcher before she warmed up and spit in his hands and then rubbed the game ball and gave that ball to the pitcher in every inning. Blue said that was okay. Is it? (gross, definately....legal too?)

[NumeroUno]

where was this? that is gross

[Comp]

The pitcher cant do it, so why would you allow a coach to do it? It is illegal to apply a foreign substance to the ball.

[twinsmom]

That is just disgusting.

[softballdadcoach]

"Gross-ness" aside, I don't see how an umpire says this is OK. I thought the rule about 'foreign substances' on the ball in a game covered all persons concerned and just about everything except for dirt and dew...

I know our pitcher was warned for licking her fingers and then not wipipng them before taking hold of the ball for a pitch (again, pretty gross). Also, I know that pitchers who prefer the rosin bag must wipe their hands before taking hold of the ball for a pitch after applying the rosin.

[ontheblack]

Im curious - is there much of a history with this type of cheating? Is the use of vaseline or other substances something that happens much in FP?

[UmpSteve]

"Gross-ness" aside, I don't see how an umpire says this is OK. I thought the rule about 'foreign substances' on the ball in a game covered all persons concerned and just about everything except for dirt and dew...

I know our pitcher was warned for licking her fingers and then not wipipng them before taking hold of the ball for a pitch (again, pretty gross). Also, I know that pitchers who prefer the rosin bag must wipe their hands before taking hold of the ball for a pitch after applying the rosin.

The ASA and NFHS rules make illegal to apply ANY substance to a game ball; that, in fact, includes dirt and dew. At the same time, while both also specifically require a pitcher to wipe after going to her mouth, that is the ONLY instance requiring a wipe.

Only the NCAA requires a wipe after touching a rosin bag; the criteria in ASA and NFHS is that nothing may be applied to the ball or glove, and nothing may be directly transfered to the ball. So, drying the hand off, by wiping it, using a rosin bag, or even grabbing a handful of dirt; none of those require a wipe in ASA or NFHS, UNLESS they transfer a substance to the ball.

As an aside, I have always questioned the logic of making a pitcher that generally uses a rosin bag because she is sweating or wet from a rain/sprinkle/drizzle, for the purpose of DRYING her hand, to then be required to wipe that (now) dry hand on what is almost certainly wet????

[Dongers Army]

It sounds to me that the coach is simply cleaning the ball off, using the moisture to assist in rubbing it clean. After a couple warm up throws there should be no remnants of moisture left on the ball, so there should not be any issue, no matter what organization you are playing.

It does bring up another issue that drives me crazy. Adults interfering with the game of softball. Questioning it on this forum makes sense, but questioning the umpire during the game is lame. Were they gaining an unfair advantage? Of course not. Worry about your own teams performance and the game is far more enjoyable. Worry about what the other team is doing and you will often take the fun right out of the game for you and your daughter.

[Comp]

Even if the moisture was all gone, cleaning the ball for the pitcher very well could be an advantage. The fact is, the rule states that NO foreign substance may be applied to the ball. The umpire should have replaced the ball immediately with another and warned the coach not to do it again.

[Dongers Army]

Nonsense, but whatever. If you want the umpire to provide a clean ball or the coach to clean the ball ... either way there is no advantage being gained are no rules being broken during warm ups. Play ball.