Can You Believe Spitballs Were Legal?

WOW! Did you know that it was once legal to throw spitballs? (and yes, spitballs are what they sound like.) The spit makes the ball spin in all sorts of wacky ways! Before 1934, pitchers were allowed to rub spit on baseballs to make them harder for batters to hit!

Burleigh Arland Grimes (photo: National Baseball Hall of Fame)

I decided to test it out with Kate at our local ballfield. I walked out to the pitching rubber and covered the ball in my saliva. I wound up and threw as hard as I could to Kate. The ball slipped a little and sailed WAY over her head. It nailed the metal backstop. I wasn’t too happy with my pitch. Neither was Kate (she says that she felt something wet drop off the ball when it hit the backstop).

I think everybody is glad they outlawed the spitball! I know that Kate is.