A Need-to-Know Basis: Cheating Methods in Baseball

It's a simple addage really, and I'm sure that if you are a baseball fan that you've heard this before at one time or another. "If you're not cheating, you're not trying." Or perhaps you've heard that "it's only cheating if you get caught." It's amazing that when you hear or say these addages, in terms of professional sports, the game of baseball always seems to come up. How could people cheat and lie and deceive the fans and their fellow players? Who would possibly do that to the beautiful game of baseball? You'd be surprised to hear the answers to those questions. This will be a short history of cheating in baseball, focusing on some examples of the more popular methods players use to cheat.

The fact of the matter is that cheating is so prevalent in the game that it has become a subculture of baseball in itself. Stories and legends about players digging into second base and sliding spikes up to disrupt a double play, or sticking a piece of sandpaper on a belt or in their glove. Maybe a corked bat or a little saliva on the ball to give it some extra movement. Steriods seems to be the hot topic today, and while I do not condone the steroids and human growth hormone (HGH) phenomenon in the sport, I am simply pointing out the long and dubious history of the game many of us have gorwn to love under a false sense of security. In the 70's, many teams had amphetamines, known as "greenies" in bowls inside their clubhouses. Going back, we'll examine a few of the most common infractions.

Pitches and the Altering of Baseballs by Pitchers

A little bit of altering to the baseball before the pitch is thrown could give a pitcher the advantage they would need to get a batter out. But before you think that this was relegated to players who weren't good enough to get anyone out in the first place, you would probably be best served to know exactly who was doing this. Hall of Fame pitchers were known, and in many cases admitted, ball doctorers.