Interesting piece on Perry who addresses his reputation for throwing the "spitter."
Re: Gaylord Perry Has Left the Mound.
Posted: Thu Dec 01, 2022 12:31 pm
by Nyte_Byrd
Sorry to hear of his passing. I remember seeing something in the past where he said others thought he hid
substances in his belt and such. But he did admit using lozenges in his mouth to moisten up the ball.
It's a little-known fact that I taught Gaylord how to throw the spitter. But I always had him use white vaseline because it was harder to detect and worked better than the colored stuff. Actually, I'm channeling Joe Biden here in enhancing my sports resume! I watched him pitch on TV, but never saw him in person. Most of the pitchers used something, especially at the end of their careers. Even Whitey Ford would scuff up the ball with his slightly sharpened belt buckle in his later years.
Re: Gaylord Perry Has Left the Mound.
Posted: Thu Dec 01, 2022 2:06 pm
by Nyte_Byrd
Here's some past classics.
I remember a Yankee game, where of all people who caught him cheating, Phil Rizzuto, spotted Don Sutton's hand with a close up camera view, where it appeared Sutton had some small rectangular shaped object on the palm of his hand. Looked like a small emery board. May have accounted for his known screwball pitch.