Posted on 10/20/2009 8:42:42 AM PDT by raccoonradio
Personally, the video you are about to watch is pretty amazing: I would say this is pretty conclusive evidence of why Yankees pitcher Mariano Rivera is able to throw only one pitch that has unpredictable, yet precise movement.
He has mastered the Angels so far in the ALCS but has Major League Baseball gotten a look at how he "warms up" for his appearance on the mound? You be the judge...
* With a tie game in the bottom of the 10th, the Yankees bring in Rivera. * After warming up, he has his back to home plate so the home plate ump can't see. * He looks down at the ball, then up to see if the 2nd base ump is watching. * He then looks back at the ball and appears to spit on it. * And when he tests clean for steroids they say he is not a cheater.
The spitball was banned by baseball in the early 1920s. It gave the pitcher an unfair advantage with the "funny" movement that the pitch seemed to make, and was deemed unsafe to batters as the ball was not as visible when marred with foreign substances.
Heard about this on WEEI. Don’t look good.
Yep. He spit on the ball.
But, the game being over, nothing can be done.
Will umps catch him should he do it again?
Let’s see...
Spit on the ball, umps shake it off
Fair ball by 3 feet called foul by ump withing 10 yards of the play, NBFD.
Call the game, NYY’s win the 2009 World Series.
Whatever it takes.
Hey, he’s a minority. He’s lived under a cloud his whole
life. And now you’re dumping on him as he’s struggling
to make a decent living for his family.
Just trying to make up for past wrongs and even the playing
field.
Stop being a hater. (sarcasm off)
And watch MLB whine about copyright infringement. This one has already gone viral so let’s see how it plays out.
Where are all the Yankee fans I wonder?
I dislike cheaters in America’s Great Game. If MLB doesn’t give him a suspension based on the video or if he ever gets caught, make them put a pitcher out without any warmup or forefit. If you can’t win within the rules why play?
No fan of the Yankees here, and umps mistakes are maddening.
But I doubt blue saw the spit.
And, I’m not excusing the act, but unless he’s caught cheating during the game, you can’t penalize him.
Thems the rules.
You don't hock a giant loogie directly on the ball when throwing a spitter... You wet your fingers and "load up" a specific area. Vaseline works much better anyway.
That's why pitchers can only go to their mouths in certain conditions.
Grasping at straws Angels (and apparently Red Sox) fans???
Go Phillies!!!!
Agreed. But, that foul ball call during the playoffs was bogus. Not that I care, old O’s fan.
Now that I think of it, some enterprising fan can locate where the spitter ended up. If it went in the stands, ca-ching!
Poor technique. The proper way is to have the catcher deposit a loogie in his glove and then return the ball to the pitcher with a foreign load.
Gaylord Perry wrote an article in Sports Illustrated back in 1970’s on how to throw a spitter without getting caught.
Some batters have been known to alter their equipment too, to gain a competitive advantage.
I’m no Yankees fan, but it looked like he may have just been spitting. It didn’t appear to hit the ball.
Go Yankees!
The team of Jeters and cheaters.
Red Suck crybaby!
You whine more then the Obama White House.
Hell - just look at him - he even LOOKS like he could be the 20th hijacker...
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