Benches still clear on a regular basis. You can count on Bryce Harper for at least one tantrum per season. The level of drama in a modern baseball game is a fraction of what it once was. On this day, forty years ago pine tar, that sticky stuff this site is named for, became the center of a drama between the New York Yankees and Kansas City Royals. Even if you don’t remember the story, you’ve likely heard of the pine tar incident.
Down by one in the top of the ninth, Goose Gossage came in from the bullpen to face George Brett. Royals shortstop UL Washington was on first. Brett fouled off the first pitch from Gossage. On his next swing, Brett crushed a home into the right field stands.
As George Brett crossed home plate, Yankees manager, Billy Martin came out of the dugout and demanded that umpire Tim McClelland exam Brett’s bat. Martin claimed that Brett had too much pine tar on his bat, which should void the home run.
Everyone in the stands watched as McClelland and the other umpires compared the amount of pine tar on the bat against the 17-inch width of home plate. The goo on the bat extended well beyond the width of the plate.
Major League Rule on Substances on a Bat
Rule 1.10(c) of the Major League Baseball rule book stated that “a bat may not be covered by such a substance more than 18 inches [46 cm] from the tip of the handle.”
At an estimated 24 inches of coverage, the pine tar was well beyond the rule. George Brett’s home run was declared an illegally batted ball. At the time of the incident this meant that under Rule 6.06, any batter who hits an illegally batted ball is automatically called out.
The out was the end of the game. Or at least it would have been the end of the game if not for a protest by the Kansas City Royals.
Protest and Reversal of the Pine Tar Incident
This is where things get interesting. American League President Lee McPhail upheld the Royal protest and forced the game to be completed at a future date. Brett’s homerun was reinstated, though Brett himself was ejected for bad behavior, along with Royals pitcher Gaylord Perry who had attempted to hide the bat, and coach Rocky Colavito who had argued with the umps.
The Yankees did their best to prevent the game going ahead, using a variety of tactics. They even tried to claim Brett hadn’t touched the bases as he did his homerun trot. McPhail anticipated Billy Martin’s antics and provided a letter stating that Brett did in fact touch all the bases.
The Yankees did their best to prevent the game going ahead, using a variety of tactics. They even tried to claim Brett hadn’t touched the bases as he did his homerun trot. McPhail anticipated Billy Martin’s antics and provided a letter stating that Brett did in fact touch all the bases.
The game was finally resumed on August 18, 1983, a full 25 days after the game started. The Royals came to bat with two outs and Brett’s homerun giving them a lead of 5-4 as the inning resumed.
The pine tar incident continued to add to baseball lore with a number of additional events. In that 9th inning, Ron Guidry, a starting pitcher for the Yankees, was placed in centerfield due to an August 10 trade of the original center fielder Jerry Mumphrey. Don Mattingly played second base, which is one of the rare times a left handed player ever played that position.
Hal McRae struck out to end the Royals half of the inning. The Yankees went quietly in order with Mattingly ending a 25-game hitting streak and Dan Quisenberry taking the save.
Forty years later, we haven’t seen a drama quite like this one and it’s quite possible we never will.
