I love old houses, working with my hands, and teaching others the excitment of doing it yourself! Everything is teachable if you only give it the chance. Your email address will not be published. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. Search for:. JavaScript seems to be disabled in your browser. For the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on Javascript in your browser. Pine tar is a very tacky, sticky substance that is produced by the high temperature carbonization of pine wood.
Before its use in baseball, it was primarily used by mariners as a sealant for their vessels. Now, it is probably most commonly associated with use by baseball players in addition to batting gloves , baseball bat wraps and accessories. In this article, we will discuss everything you need to know about pine tar use in baseball. In baseball, pine tar is the brownish-black, extremely tacky substance that is most commonly used by hitters looking to improve their grip on the handle of their bat.
It is not always only used on the handle the bat that players elect to put pine tar on. When using it on a bat, make sure not to exceed the inch mark from the end of your bat. Also, you do not need to apply too much tar as it can make the bat heavier. Most players prefer to apply the pine tar between the inch mark and the handle instead of applying it directly to the handle.
This allows them to simply touch the tar to make their batting gloves as sticky as they feel is necessary. Another way to apply pine tar is with a rag. Sometimes, players put a liquid form of pine tar on a rag and then apply it to the bat by wrapping the rag around the part of the bat they wish to make stickier.
This method is a little messier than using the pine tar stick, but it can sometimes deliver better results as the liquid is often stickier. Whichever method you prefer, it is important not to get carried away with the amount of pine tar applied to the surface.
Here are some different pine tar products to consider if you are looking for a little extra grip on your bat:. When using pine tar for baseball bats, it is important to purchase pine tar specifically for baseball. Other products made for everyday use do not always have the same consistency and will not provide the same results as baseball-specific pine tar.
One alternative is beeswax. Some companies like Stinger Sports make beeswax on a stick similar to pine tar. Of course, another alternative is a bat grip. While it is not allowed at the professional level, some youth players opt to purchase a bat grip for their wooden bat to avoid loading it up with pine tar to give it a better grip. These bat grips can be purchased separately and are pretty easy to apply by yourself. Keep in mind, the league or tournament you play in may not allow bat grips on a wooden bat although most youth wooden bat tournaments do.
Sign up with Twitter. Sign up with Facebook. Sign up with Google. By signing up you agree with our communications and usage terms. Already have an account? So here, for your edification, the nectar of our mind grapes. Yankees starter Michael Pineda was ejected from Wednesday night's game against the Red Sox in the second inning after Boston manager John Farrell noticed a foreign substance had appeared on his neck.
To be fair, it was blatantly, almost insultingly obvious. Umpire Gerry Davis inspected the noticeably darker area, and upon confirming it was pine tar, booted the Yankees star from the mound. Pine tar is a tacky substance produced by the high temperature carbonization of pine wood duh.
Traditionally, it was used as a sealant for maritime purposes , but today it is also used in soaps, shampoos and treatments for certain skin conditions. You know how sticky tree sap is? If so, you have a general idea of how sticky pine tar can be. Major League Baseball still requires players to use wooden bats. Since they can be quite slippery, league rules allow players to add up to 18 inches of pine tar to aid in grip.
The better the grip on the bat, the more loosely a player can grip it, allowing for more "pop" and less stinging when contact is made with the ball. Major League Baseball Rule 8.
Subsection 8. Even spit balls are illegal. The penalty for violating this rule is immediate ejection from the game, and a possible suspension. The flight pattern of an unmodified baseball is predictable.
Grip it in different ways along the seams, across the seams, or with the knuckles and the flight path of the ball is altered in a predictable manner. But predictable is also hittable. Adding a foreign substance or modifying the surface of the ball in any way — scuffing it for example — alters the typical flight path and makes the ball more difficult for batters to track and make contact with.
Pine tar in particular is said to improve a pitcher's grip in cold weather. On April 10th, Pineda started another game against the Red Sox. In this game, it was also obvious that he was using pine tar.
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