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Strange case indeed. The original ruling probably should have been upheld, but MLB immediately changed the rule to cover cases like this where the “alteration” to the bat had no effect on the weight of the bat or the flight of the ball after contact was made. Previously, the rule was written so that a bat with too much pine tar was treated the same as a corked bat.

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.

The original ruling should have stood. He violated the rule.

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.