IIRC, they used to keep balls in play for as long as possible, even if they were mush. They may have tried to retrieve foul balls. Nowadays, the pitcher can dislike a ball. The umps will discard a ball pretty readily. Don’t know if this was happening in Ruth’s day.
“Don’t know if this was happening in Ruth’s day.”
It wasn’t. But the option for a pitcher to ask for a new ball was available. To put anything on a ball can change the trajectory or appearance to the batter. Pitchers at that level know what to do with a damaged baseball.
You’d be amazed at the things being done for a baseball. And this is something most, even ardent fans, don’t know. MLB baseballs are prepared by storing them in a humidor (typically at 70°F and 57% humidity) for at least 14 days. Within three hours of a game, clubhouse staff must manually rub the factory shine off at least 13 to 15 dozen baseballs using a special Jersey mud, Lena Blackburne Baseball Rubbing Mud, to improve the pitcher’s grip and also take the shine off the ball which also effects trajectory. Hense the pitchers being caught with a nail file is alering the ball and causing it to have a smooth piece that allows air to pass over it differently. Ejection and probably fine. The muddied balls are placed back in the humidor until just 15 to 30 minutes before the first pitch, at which point they are delivered to the umpires for final inspection and approved for play.
If they are scuffed, cut, anything built up on the surface from spit to mud to filed during the game, they are removed to supposedly keep the competition consistent. But those suspected balls are sent to the league office.
And even today, pitchers leaving the mound to go to the dugout after the third out, are inspected by the umpires whether they are suspected or not. They don’t show much of that on television. The players are supposed to be role models.
You might ask if pitchers have ever been caught going to the dugout or observed. Yes they have. Two examples are Max Scherzer or Edwin Díaz. Both got 10 day suspensions. Other caught changing the ball include Dominigo Germán (2023), Hector Santiago (2021), Caleb Smith (2021), Michael Pineda (2014), Joe Niekro (1987), Brian Moehler (1999), Gaylord Perry (1982) and Rick Honeycutt (1980). There were more but this is a good start.
Anything that changes the surface of a ball at that level is going to be a pitcher’s advantage except a small dirt smudge that helps the batter see the spin on the pitch. So they are changed at the umpires desire or request of players on the field. Keeps the appearance of possible impropriety hidden more than anything else. It’s an act.
wy69