 Thebaseball bat used byKansas City Royalsthird basemanGeorge Brett in the Pine Tar Incident on July 24,1983 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | July 24 – August 18, 1983 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Venue | Yankee Stadium | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| City | Bronx,New York | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Umpires | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 33,944 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Television | WDAF-TV (Royals' broadcast) WPIX (Yankees’ broadcast)[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| TV announcers | WDAF-TV:Denny Matthews,Fred White and Denny Trease WPIX:Phil Rizzuto,Frank Messer,Bill White andBobby Murcer | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Radio | WIBW (Royals' broadcast) WABC (Yankees’ broadcast) [2] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Radio announcers | WIBW: Matthews and White WABC: Rizzuto, Messer, White, andJohn Gordon | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
ThePine Tar Incident (also known as thePine Tar Game) was a controversial incident in1983 during anAmerican League baseball game played between theKansas City Royals andNew York Yankees atYankee Stadium inNew York City on Sunday, July 24, 1983.
With his team trailing 4–3 in the top half of the ninth inning and two out, the Royals' futureHall of Fame third basemanGeorge Brett hit a two-runhome run off future Hall of Fame YankeecloserRich "Goose" Gossage to give his team the lead; however, Yankee managerBilly Martin, who had noticed a large amount ofpine tar[3] on Brett's bat, requested that theumpires inspect his bat. The umpires ruled that the amount on the bat exceeded that allowed by rule, nullified Brett's home run, and called himout. As Brett was the third out in the ninth inning with the home team in the lead, the game ended with a Yankees win.[4][5]
The Royalsprotested the game, upheld by American League presidentLee MacPhail, who ordered that the game be continued from the point of Brett's home run.[6][7][8] The game was resumed 25 days later on August 18 and officially ended with the Royals winning5–4.[9][10]
The visiting Royals were trailing 4–3 with two outs in the top of the ninth in a game being played at New York'sYankee Stadium. WithU L Washington on first base George Brett came to the plate and relieverDale Murray was replaced by closerRich "Goose" Gossage. After fouling off the first pitch to the left, Brett connected on a high strike and put it well into the right field stands for a two-runhome run and a 5–4 lead.[4][5]
As Brett crossed the plate, however, New York managerBilly Martin approached rookie home plate umpireTim McClelland and requested Brett's bat be examined. Before the game, Martin and other members of the Yankees had noticed the excessivepine tar used by Brett, but Martin had chosen not to say anything until it was strategically useful to do so.[11] Yankees third baseman and captainGraig Nettles recalled a similar incident involvingThurman Munson in a1975 game against theMinnesota Twins.[12] In Nettles' autobiographyBalls, Nettles claims that he actually informed Martin of the pine tar rule, as Nettles had previously undergone the same scrutiny with his own bat while with the Twins.
With Brett watching from the dugout, McClelland and the rest of the umpiring crew,Drew Coble,Joe Brinkman, andNick Bremigan, inspected the bat. Measuring the extent of the pine tar against the 17 inches or 43 centimetres width ofhome plate, they determined that the amount, which covered about 24 inches of the bat, exceeded that allowed by Rule 1.10(c) of the Major League Baseball rule book, which read that "a bat may not be covered by such a substance more than 18 inches [46 cm] from the tip of the handle." Because of this, the crew determined that Brett's home run constituted an "illegally batted ball," and under the terms of the then-existing provisions of Rule 6.06, any batter who hit an illegally batted ball was automatically called out. The umpires concluded that Brett's home run was disallowed under this interpretation, and he was out, thus ending the game.
McClelland searched for Brett in the visitors' dugout, pointed at him with the bat, and signaled that he was out, handing the Yankees a 4–3 win. An enraged Brett leaped out of the dugout and confronted McClelland, requiring him to be physically restrained by his managerDick Howser, several of his teammates, and crew chief Joe Brinkman. Despite the furious protests of Brett and Howser, McClelland's ruling stood.[4][5]
He's out! Brett is out! Look at this!...He is out, and having to be forcibly restrained from hitting plate umpire Tim McClelland. And the Yankees have won the ball game 4 to 3! Brett is called out for using an...illegal substance on the bat!
The Royals protested the game. Four days later,American League presidentLee MacPhail upheld the Royals' protest. In explaining his decision, MacPhail noted that the "spirit of the restriction" on pine tar on bats was based not on the fear of unfair advantage, but simple economics; any contact with pine tar would discolor the ball, render it unsuitable for play, and require that it be discarded and replaced—thus increasing the home team's cost of supplying balls for a given game. MacPhail ruled that Brett had not violated the spirit of the rules nor deliberately "altered [the bat] to improve the distance factor."[7][8]
MacPhail's ruling followed his own precedent established after a protest in1975 of the September 7 game played between the Royals and theCalifornia Angels.[14] In that game, the umpiring crew had declined to negate one ofJohn Mayberry's home runs for excessive pine tar use. MacPhail upheld the umpires' decision with the interpretation that the intent of the rule was to prevent baseballs from being discolored during game play and that any discoloration that may have occurred to a ball leaving the ballpark did not affect the game's competitive balance.
MacPhail thus restored Brett's home run and ordered the game resumed with two outs in the top of the ninth inning with the Royals leading 5–4. However, he retroactivelyejected Brett for his outburst against McClelland, Howser and Royals coachRocky Colavito for arguing with the umpires, and Royals pitcherGaylord Perry for giving the bat to the bat boy so he could hide it in the clubhouse away from officials.
After ordering the resumption of play, MacPhail and other league officials held a strategy session to anticipate tricks the Yankees might use to prevent the game from continuing,[15] which included the possibility the Yankees might claim Brett or Washington missed a base, automatically ruling them out, and, depending on which, preventing one or both runs from scoring.
Indeed, the Yankees resisted the resumption of the game, and they hoped to forestall doing so until near the end of the season to see if the game would have an effect on the standings or should beforfeited.[9] Instead, the game was scheduled for 25 days after its suspension, to be resumed on August 18, 1983.
For the resumption of the game, the Yankees announced that they would charge non-season-ticket holders a $2.50 admission fee to attend. Two lawsuits were filed against the Yankees inBronxSupreme Court (trial court). Justice Orest Maresca issued an injunction, also requested by the Yankees, preventing the game from being resumed until the lawsuits were litigated.[9] Maresca also cited the Yankees' expressed concerns about security problems resulting from confusion over admission to the game.[16]
That injunction was immediately appealed by the American League and was overturned bySupreme Court Appellate Division Justice Joseph Sullivan, who issued the extremely short and simple decision of "Play ball." The Royals, who were in flight during that day's legal battles, did not know whether the game would be played until they arrived atNewark Airport.[9]
The Yankees finally agreed to allow admission for the game's conclusion to anybody with a ticket stub from the July 24 game at no additional charge.[9]
August 18 had been a scheduled off-day for both teams. The ejected Brett did not accompany the team from the airport in New Jersey. Instead, he was to depart directly forBaltimore, where the Royals were scheduled to play the next day,[9] although other sources indicate Brett waited for the rest of the team, passing the time playinghearts.[17] In a 2024 interview, Brett stated he went to an Italian restaurant near the airport while the game was concluded.[18]
The game was resumed from the point of Brett's home run, with about 1,200 fans in attendance. A still-furious Martin made what some initially construed as a mere symbolic protest of continuing the game by putting acestarterRon Guidry incenter field (his second big-league appearance there; he had played an inning in center in 1979) andfirst basemanDon Mattingly atsecond base.[19] Actually, theGold Glove fielding Mattingly was replacing the second baseman from the July 24 game,Bert Campaneris, who was injured, and Guidry replaced original center-fielderJerry Mumphrey, who had been traded on August 10 to theHouston Astros. With Mattingly set to lead off the bottom of the ninth, the move allowed the substitution of another potent batter (Ken Griffey) to play first base, and made the Yankees' top starter available to pitch if needed, all while avoiding "wast[ing] a possiblepinch hitter or runner."[19]
Mattingly became a rare Major League left-handed second baseman; no left-hander had played second base or shortstop in a big-league game sinceCleveland Indians left-handed pitcherSam McDowell was switched from pitcher to second base for one batter in a game in1970 against theWashington Senators in order to avoid facing right-handed Senators sluggerFrank Howard.[20][21]
Before the first pitch toHal McRae (who followed Brett in the lineup), Yankee pitcherGeorge Frazier threw the first ball to first base to challenge Brett's home run on the grounds that Brett had not touched first base.[19] UmpireTim Welke (given incorrectly in some sources as Tim McClelland, the original home plate umpire[19]) called safe, even though he had not officiated the July 24 game and seen Brett touch the bases.[9] Frazier then threw to second, claiming that the base was touched by neither Brett norU L Washington, the other player scoring on the home run, but umpireDave Phillips, chief of the new crew, signaled safe.[19]
Martin went on the field to argue, and, anticipating just such a gambit, Phillips pulled out a notarized statement produced by MacPhail's administrative assistant Bob Fishel and signed by all four umpires from July 24 indicating that Brett had touched every base.[19][15] Martin claimed to be surprised by the statement because he had spoken by telephone to the first base umpire from July 24, Drew Coble, who had said that he was not looking at first base when Brett had circled first base. Martin then lodged a protest, announced by the umpires, that the game's outcome was being challenged by the Yankees.[9]
Frazier struck outHal McRae to end the top of the ninth, 25 days after the inning had begun. Royals' closerDan Quisenberry retired New York in order—Mattingly flying to center,Roy Smalley flying to left, andOscar Gamble (pinch hitting for Ron Guidry) grounding to second-for the save[22] preserving the Royals' 5–4 win.[9]
The loss placed the Yankees in fifth place, three and a half games out of first.[9] Neither team advanced to thepostseason.
Quisenberry gained his league-leading 33rd save, while Mattingly lost a 25-game hitting streak.[17]
The bat is currently on display in theBaseball Hall of Fame, where it has been since 1987. During a broadcast ofMike & Mike in the Morning,ESPN analystTim Kurkjian stated that Brett used the bat for a few games after the incident until being cautioned that the bat would be worthless if broken. Brett sold the bat to famed collector and then-partial owner of the Yankees,Barry Halper, for $25,000 (equivalent to $79,000 in 2024),[23] had second thoughts, repurchased the bat for the same amount, and then donated it to the Hall of Fame.
The home-run ball was caught by journalist Ephraim Schwartz, who sold it and his game ticket stub to Halper for $500 (equivalent to $1,600 in 2024) plus 12 Yankees tickets.[24][25] Halper also acquired the signed business card of Justice Orest V. Maresca, who had issued the injunction, and the can of Oriole Pine Tar Brett had used on the bat. Gossage later signed the pine-tar ball, "Barry, I threw the fucking thing".[26] The winning pitcher for the Royals was relieverMike Armstrong. Armstrong said in a 2006 interview that, as the Royals were leaving for the airport after the resumed game, an angry Yankees fan threw a brick from an overpass at Kansas City's bus, cracking its windshield.
"It was wild to go back to New York and play these four outs in a totally empty stadium," Armstrong said in 2006. "I'm dressed in the uniform, and nobody's there."[27]
Before a game against the Yankees atKauffman Stadium on May 5, 2012, the Royals gave each fan who attended the game a replica baseball bat designed to look like the one Brett used with the pine tar.[28]
As part of the Royals' fiftieth season in2018, before a game against the Yankees at Kauffman Stadium on May 19, the Royals gave 18,000 fans who attended the game a George Brett Pine Tarbobblehead to celebrate the incident and Royals victory. It depicts Brett, after his home run was nullified, rushing at the umpires in anger.[29]
In2010, Major League Baseball amended the official rules with a comment on rule 1.10(c) clarifying the consequences of using excessive pine tar on a bat. The comment codifies the interpretation of the rule issued by American League presidentLee MacPhail in his reversal:
If no objections are raised prior to a bat’s use, then a violation of Rule 1.10(c) on that play does not nullify any action or play on the field and no protests of such play shall be allowed.[30]
| Pitcher New York Yankees | Batter Kansas City Royals | Result (outs in bold) | Score Royals – Yankees | Date played |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dale Murray (R) | Don Slaught (R) | Ground out to shortstop | 3–4 | July 24 |
| Pat Sheridan (L) | Line out to first baseman | |||
| U L Washington (S) | Single up the middle | |||
| Rich Gossage (R) | George Brett (L) | Home run to right | 5–4 | |
| George Frazier (R) | Hal McRae (R) | Strikeout | August 18 |
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kansas City Royals | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 13 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| New York Yankees | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| WP:Mike Armstrong (5–5) LP:Goose Gossage (7–4) Sv:Dan Quisenberry (24) Home runs: KCR:George Brett (20) NYY:Dave Winfield (16) Attendance: 33,944 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Goose Gossage faced one batter in the top of the 9th inning.
In 1983, folk and "hillbilly" artistRed River Dave McEnery released "The Pine-Tarred Bat (The Ballad of George Brett)" onLonghorn Records.[32]
Country music artistC. W. McCall dedicated the 1985 song "Pine Tar Wars" to the event, composing a lyric that features an accurate[citation needed] telling of the relevant facts of the story. The lyric is strongly critical of Billy Martin, referring to him as "Tar Baby Billy."[33][34][35]
After MacPhail ordered the Yanks and KC to play the last of the ninth inning, Lee and Bob Fishel and others in the league office held a meeting to discuss counter-strategy. They tried to anticipate what tricks the Yankees might come up with when they got on the field to play those last few outs. [...] And at that meeting it was Bob Fishel who suggested they should be ready in case the Yankees claimed Brett missed a base
