How does spit affect a baseball

Chris Colabello acknowledges the tradition of spitting, recalling when he was a kid. As part of the deal, players agreed not to use chewing tobacco where fans can see them, hoping to keep kids from seeing them chew on tobacco and be encouraged to start doing it themselves.

Some players do still use chew when and where they can, but most of them have turned to sunflower seeds and chewing gums as the replacement for chewing tobacco. With that said, why do baseball players spit? Baseball players spit for a variety of reasons, including to eliminate nervous tics, a replacement for tobacco, to continue a tradition, or because of the sunflower seed or gum in their mouths. Years before the dangers of chewing tobacco became known, players used it to stimulate saliva on the field.

When it came to the use of gum and sunflower seeds, the same effect was used. Still, many baseball players prefer chewing tobacco over sunflower seeds or gum despite the adverse effects. Over time, other baseball players saw spitting as a habit, regardless of the item chewed. He mentioned in an interview that if people saw players spit on TV, it was like the spectators were in the field, close to the athletes. Players started to use less and less chewing tobacco during the s and 80s, with the use becoming even less popular in the next decades due to concerns about its negative effect on their health.

In , the league and the union agreed to a new collective agreement that banned new players from using smokeless tobacco. Today, 30 stadiums around the US ban the use of smokeless tobacco while inside the premises. Chewing gum can help relieve that stress.

But chewing gum for extended periods eliminates the flavor, which makes the experience more taxing than relaxing. For example, if he predicts the ball will cross the strike zone as it reaches the plate, he'll often swing.

The trajectory of a spitball is difficult to predict, which makes it tougher for a batter to hit. Similar to a knuckle ball, a spitball doesn't follow a typical trajectory and might drop quickly as it approaches the batter or spin to either side of the plate.

The death was not just the result of the errant path of the spitball, but also the dirty ball and the dimly lit field -- in the early years of the game, umpires less frequently introduced new, clean balls into play and stadiums lacked the bright lights synonymous with modern-day parks.

Major League Baseball outlawed the spitball at the end of that season, although a grandfather clause allowed some players to continue throwing the pitch.

Despite the banning of the spitball in , many pitchers continued to use the pitch. Spitting can be more difficult in these situations, but it will feel necessary regardless, especially as breathing becomes somewhat uncomfortable.

But beyond temperature and weather, gotta-spit perils are ample and unavoidable. Allergens in the air, which are more prevalent on windy days, often find their way through oral and nasal mucosa.

Landscapers and drivers operating lawn mowers and trucks can spray exhaust all over the side walk. And flies love to torture runners. Running etiquette is more important than ever in the COVID era; well-meaning runners now make a point to take wide berths around others on the road, and avoid spitting when other pedestrians or even cars can see them.

It makes the spitting crusade of baseball players, who only exercise in short, explosive bursts before standing for several minutes or returning to the dugout where liquids are widely available all the more confusing. Basketball players run up and down the court all game without spitting on the hardwood. Soccer players spit more than most sports — to the dismay of some British fans — but then, that sport probably comes closest to long-distance running, and considering the consistent cold or rainy conditions those players scramble around in, it feels justified.

In , Tiger Woods missed a putt and spit on a green. He was fined. One of the great, uncomfortable ironies in all of this is that spitting appears to give baseball players some semblance of comfort and control — and right now, more than ever, they could use both of those things. Their coworkers are getting sick, healthy teammates have already started defecting, and hitting a baseball, even in non-pandemic times, is arguably one of the toughest assignments in professional sports.

But this season if it continues and in the years ahead, the sport needs to find a way to mitigate or completely abolish the practice. Baseball, the crazy, tribal, inside joke of a sport that it is, has a unique ability to celebrate failure, to make much ado about one hit on a day otherwise spent striking out.

This article was featured in the InsideHook newsletter.