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Posted on 07/24/2026 10:14:11 AM PDT by DFG
The image remains one of baseball's most iconic snapshots, as fresh in the minds of New York Yankees and Kansas City Royals fans today as it was in 1983.
On July 24, 1983, with two outs in the ninth and U.L. Washington on first base, Kansas City All-Star third baseman George Brett homered off New York closer Goose Gossage, giving the Royals a 5-4 lead. But while Brett celebrated in the Yankee Stadium dugout following his round-tripper, Yankees manager Billy Martin walked to home plate and informed umpire Tim McClelland that Brett's bat was covered with more pine tar than the rules allowed. Pine tar, a sticky glue-like substance used to give batters a better grip, hardens over time – making the bat more effective.
McClelland carefully measured the bat against the 17-inch width of home plate, determined that the bat violated the 18-inch pine tar rule, turned to the Royals dugout and signaled that Brett was out, ending the game.
An enraged Brett instantly charged McClelland, screaming wildly while being restrained by teammates and Royals manager Dick Howser. But the call stood, the game over.
George Brett led the American League in hits three times, and in batting average three times, during his career. (National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum)
Or so it seemed.
The Royals immediately protested the outcome, and American League president Lee MacPhail eventually overruled McClelland and ordered the game to be resumed from the point after Brett had homered. On Aug. 18, the teams reconvened at Yankee Stadium, and about 1,200 fans watched as Martin symbolically protested by putting pitcher Ron Guidry in center field and moving left-handed first baseman Don Mattingly to second base.
Martin then protested the game – before the first pitch to the Royals' Hal McRae – on the grounds that Brett did not touch all the bases during his home run and that the current umpiring crew could not verify this. But umpire Davey Phillips produced an affidavit signed by the July 24 umpires stating that Brett had indeed touched all bases. An irate Martin was quickly ejected from the game for arguing.
Yankees reliever George Frazier struck out McRae to end the top of the ninth, and Royals reliever Dan Quisenberry pitched a perfect bottom of the ninth to preserve Kansas City's 5-4 win.
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Billy Martin was a real dick head.
Wasn’t Billy always half tanked?
The original ruling should have stood. He violated the rule.
Tar Baby Billy can you hear our song?
Did you cry about the game last night?
Yeah, but an entertaining one. I used to see him in DeCesare’s - a rib and Italian place in North Palm Beach in the late 80’s. One night, he, Mickey, and Whitey Ford sat at the huge circular bar and held court for hours.
Something I’m very glad I got to experience.
Can someone explain to me: How did an illegally tarred bat make it into play and that Martin would know it to call it out? Is there a pool of bats everyone uses? Teams bring their own and use only their own? Are they inspected before and during the game?
A few interesting tidbits about this incident …
1. There was no reason for Brett to deliberately put the pine tar so high up on his bat. It was really the result of a peculiar ritual he had at the plate, where he would step out of the batter’s box between pitches, hold his bat at the knob with his right hand, and then reflexively grab the barrel of the bat with his left hand. Over time, this resulted in a gradual transfer of pine tar from the handle of the bat to the barrel.
2. The process described above resulted in a LOT of pine tar building up on Brett’s bat — because he was such a phenomenal hitter. He was so consistent in making solid contact at the plate that he rarely ever broke a bat in his prime — which meant he would end up using the same bat for weeks on end.
3. The biggest reason for MLB to uphold the original ruling was that it really wasn’t possible to replay the end of the game as they did. The last four outs of the game were played weeks later, and at least one of the teams (the Yankees) had players on the roster (and maybe in the game itself) who had been traded between the original game and the replayed end of the game.
4. I seem to remember that Billy Martin further made his displeasure known by using a farcical lineup for the completed game. He may have put guys in the lineup who weren’t even at the stadium, and I think pitcher Ron Guidry may have played in the outfield for the one final KC out of the 9th inning of the replayed game.
See Post #12. The Yankees knew about the pine tar all season long. They waited for the right opportunity to call Brett on it at a time when it really mattered.
Indeed it does! Thanks! 🙂
Back then at least they weren’t inspected before the game, don’t know about now. Probably the catcher had noticed it earlier and mentioned it to Billy (after a hit when George dropped the bat), and Billy sat on it until it could be useful (get an important hit taken off the board). Maybe even in a previous game. Back in the day well timed bat and (in hockey) stick challenges were a big deal, and there was a lot of gamesmanship of hiding the illegal bats and sticks late in a game. These days I don’t think illegal bats and sticks are nearly as popular.
Which rule, specifically, are you referring to? American League President Lee MacPhail ruled that the rule against altered bats was intended to prevent corking and flat filing, not pine tar. The pine tar rule was put in to prevent hiding an altered bat. The rule was clarified the next winter. The bat, like Tom Brady's football, was retained by the officials, sent to the American League HQ, throughly washed with alcohol, and shown to be otherwise compliant. The pine tar was not used to disguise tampering.
Brett remained disqualified from the game, however, for his outburst, so he could not play in the continuation in August. To MacPhail's credit, although his father had been President of the Yankees, he overruled the umpire and let the homerun stand. The elder MacPhail, and when asked about Brooklyn's Jackie Robinson, said that the Yankee's affluent Westchester County fans were not interested, Prior to the Royals, Kansas City had been home to Yankee's AAA affiliate, and ironically from the older MacPhail's point of view, the Monarchs who had dominated the Negro League. The arrival of the Royals spelled the end of the Monarchs. The Negro League Hall of Fame is in Kansas City. They should have a Lee MacPhail Sr. exhibit for his contribution to the longevity of the Negro League.
Something actually happened at a bazeball game?
How many hours of boredom before that?
George Brett’s pine tar home run (July 24, 1983). Beisball been bery bery good to me.
Brett’s histrionics could have been prevented by the umpire measuring the bat against home plate showing a little common sense. Unless it’s prevented by some rule, he should have calmly walked over to the Kansas City dugout, explained to Brett and the K.C. manager what the protesting Martin was complaining about and what the repercussions would be if Martin was correct and then had Brett and his manager witness the actual measuring along with Martin. Just measuring and then walking back to the dugout and giving the “You’re out!” gesture was asking for a scene. Being a hothead myself, I empathize with Brett’s reaction but a little forethought on the ump’s part could have prevented it.
“It was really the result of a peculiar ritual he had at the plate, where he would step out of the batter’s box between pitches,”
I’m glad the Pitch Clock has eliminated all that time-wasting crap.
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