Wow, Joe seemed like a shifty character. To my knowledge (and the HOF’s vetting) Phil never had any issues with doctoring a ball. I am currently reading Ball Four and there were certainly other pitchers who cheated.
Phil doesn't seem to have been on the radar for altering the baseball. It was a risky proposition for a knuckleballer, something Joe pointed out. It seems at least plausible that Joe only resorted to scuffing when he got hurt earlier that summer and struggled to get his best pitch back on track. Phil never had that problem.
Many pitchers were cheating in the 1980s...and the 1970s...and the 1960s, and so on. If you could make another few years of your living in baseball, this was the way. As Earl Weaver famously told an ineffective pitcher, "If you know how to cheat, start now."
Really interesting. And by no means an unusual take. Umpires do not see themselves as an "authority" on much beyond the calls they are required to make during a game. And they are very wary of mission creep.
Wow, I forgot how disingenuous Joe was in how he behaved when caught. He was clearly guilty and tried to make the umpires embarrassed when questioning him. It’s an a-hole move.
The thing that I always appreciated about Gaylord Perry was how he leaned into the cheating allegations and how he used it to win mind games with the hitters even when he wasn’t doctoring the ball.
I'm sure that in addition to being a talented pitcher, Perry was an instinctive genius when it came to psychological manipulation. He said he was inspired by watching batters react to Don Drysdale, spending far more time looking for his "wet one" than Drysdale actually threw it. But Perry took it to another level. It became a persona, and he was working angles on and off the field. Joe was just having a bad few months and got caught. He did his best, which was predictably bad.
You can’t go wrong with the classics.
Wow, Joe seemed like a shifty character. To my knowledge (and the HOF’s vetting) Phil never had any issues with doctoring a ball. I am currently reading Ball Four and there were certainly other pitchers who cheated.
Phil doesn't seem to have been on the radar for altering the baseball. It was a risky proposition for a knuckleballer, something Joe pointed out. It seems at least plausible that Joe only resorted to scuffing when he got hurt earlier that summer and struggled to get his best pitch back on track. Phil never had that problem.
Many pitchers were cheating in the 1980s...and the 1970s...and the 1960s, and so on. If you could make another few years of your living in baseball, this was the way. As Earl Weaver famously told an ineffective pitcher, "If you know how to cheat, start now."
So I thought wet fingers were a NoNo. I see pitchers have their hand in mouth after each pitch. Wonder how that Jersey mud tastes.
Yankees Michael Kay & Dave Cone were discussing Bouton’s book on yesterday’s game.
I’m gonna get it too. Found out he lived only a few towns from me in north Jersey.
I loved the ump’s comments about discovering these rule infractions… “Not my job”
Really interesting. And by no means an unusual take. Umpires do not see themselves as an "authority" on much beyond the calls they are required to make during a game. And they are very wary of mission creep.
Wow, I forgot how disingenuous Joe was in how he behaved when caught. He was clearly guilty and tried to make the umpires embarrassed when questioning him. It’s an a-hole move.
The thing that I always appreciated about Gaylord Perry was how he leaned into the cheating allegations and how he used it to win mind games with the hitters even when he wasn’t doctoring the ball.
I'm sure that in addition to being a talented pitcher, Perry was an instinctive genius when it came to psychological manipulation. He said he was inspired by watching batters react to Don Drysdale, spending far more time looking for his "wet one" than Drysdale actually threw it. But Perry took it to another level. It became a persona, and he was working angles on and off the field. Joe was just having a bad few months and got caught. He did his best, which was predictably bad.
He’s no Gaylord Perry, but he and his brother operated quite a family business. Great story, Paul.
I've always loved this story.
I think at its core it's a Hail Mary story, and we love seeing that play...even when it doesn't work out.