Ok. Here's something which I read today, that I enjoyed.

by TheRiddler Sun Jun 07, 2009 12:47 am

I hope that you do too. It is from Buzzaldrin at the Baseball Fever site.

Buzzaldrin

vbmenu_register("postmenu_1536178", true);

rock star

Join Date: Sep 2005

Location: Sunny Sweden

Posts: 854

Did the Miracle Braves steal the pennant?

I've been re-reading Peter Morris' "A Game of Inches" and the section on Russ Ford and the emery ball got me thinking. Now, when Ford broke through with his pitch, he told no-one how it was done, going through the motions of disguising it as a regular spitball. Ford's catcher Ed Sweeney, who had been with Ford in the minors when he discovered it in 1908, and his roomie Eddie Foster were the only ones in on the secret.

No secret lasts forever, and in 1913 Cy Falkenberg was pitching what Ford knew was an emery ball. Morris implies that Earl Gardner, a teammate of Ford's who had been traded to Cleveland (where Falkenberg played) had figured it out and shown it to Falkenberg, who didn't keep it a secret very well. Ed Sweeney had also begun teaching the pitch to others.

Ford and Falkenberg jumped to the Federal league in 1914, but the pitch invaded the NL and AL. Ford claimed it was brought to the NL by his former New York manager George Stallings, who in 1914 managed the Braves. Ford suggests that Stallings taught Braves starters Lefty Tyler, Bill James, and Dick Rudolph the pitch. The Braves had just come off of 13 straight second division finishes, and on July 4th, 1914 were in last place. The team had at that point thrown one shutout.

They threw another 17 shutouts before the end of the season and came back from the cellar to win the pennant by ten games, then sweeping Mack's A's in the series.

The emery ball was banned after the 1914 season, becoming the first pitch to be specifically banned. Rudolph and Tyler managed to have some decent years off and on after 1914, but Bill James, 26-7, 1.90 in 1914 and two series wins without giving up a run (at the age of 22), won only 5 more major league games afterward.

Just curious what you guys think- if there is any merit to Ford's "strong hunch" that Stallings turned the Braves around in part with a trick pitch.

The emery ball was everything the spitter dreamed it could be. See, when you throw a spitball and moisten the spots where your two fingers grip the ball, when you release it they slide off without any friction, so the fingers don't impart any natural spin. This causes the ball to just roll of the table when it reaches the batter, sort of like a knuckleball on steroids.

The emery paper (well, when Ford actually discovered it he first used a broken piece of a bottle) actually defaces the ball. It doesn't do much when throw slowly, but when thrown as a fastball produced, as Ford said "A double curve! Could any baseball pitcher dream of a sweeter thing than that!"

Ford didn't teach anyone his discovery, and felt (correctly) that if other pitchers learned it, it would be banned because of the massive advantage it gave the pitcher. Mind you, this was at a time before any pitch had been specifically banned and Ford already saw that happening.

He protected it well, using emery paper on a ring on his finger, and he only defaced a section of the ball about the size of a dime, never coming close to being caught. When other pitchers began using it, they defaced far larger sections of the ball, and in September 1914, Eddie Collins accused Ray Keating of defacing the ball during a game. Emery paper was found in Keating's glove. People put two and two together and realized what Ford had been throwing.

After the season it was decided that any player found using the pitch would be suspended 30 days and pay a $100 fine.

When I said that Ford went through the motions of throwing a spitball, I don't think he actually wet the ball or his fingers, he just made it look like he was. I don't know for certain though, but his catcher for his first two seasons was in on the pitch, so it wouldn't be too hard to fake something else.

by bh3443 Sun Jun 14, 2009 6:39 am

Great news you reported! I've always been a Miracle Braves Fan, as my family's lived in Boston since we came here from Italy in the early 1900's.
Thanks for posting and sharing this fantastic news piece!
Bill

by bowlingshoeguy Sun Jun 14, 2009 3:37 pm

Great story, I wish I had the time and patience to read. The Riddler's stuff is always great to read.

I guess the title of this card needs to be changed to: Ford Putting over an Emery Ball.

Ok. Here's something which I read today, that I enjoyed. T2020610

Lee

by Sponsored content

Ok. Here's something which I read today, that I enjoyed.

Ok. Here's something which I read today, that I enjoyed.

interesting/thank you for posting!

Re: Ok. Here's something which I read today, that I enjoyed.

Re: Ok. Here's something which I read today, that I enjoyed.