Most controversial scandals in MLB history: #22. Pine tar forces long replayed game
Pine tar is banned just about everywhere, not just for pitchers. During a regular season game in 1983 between the New York Yankees and the Kansas City Royals, George Brett stepped up to the mound for the Royals with his team down 4-3. With a runner already on base, Brett hit a two run homer in the ninth inning. Manager Billy Martin immediately became irate, not because of the home run but more so because of what he noticed.
According to Martin, the bat of Brett had an excessive amount of pine tar. Under normal circumstances, MLB allows players to have up to 18 inches to help with their grip. Anything more than that, and it’s considered excessive and illegal. Once Martin brought it to the attention of the umpires, they inspected the bat and noticed that it did in fact have over 18 inches of pine tar. The game winning homer was immediately nullified and taken off the board. The Yankees would go on to win but not without the Royals protesting the call.
Much to the chagrin of the Yankees, the call was actually reversed and the home run officially counted. Since it was the top of the ninth inning, MLB forced both teams to continue play from that exact inning. From there, the theatrics truly began. Before the first pitch was thrown, George Frazier, the Yankee pitcher, threw it to first, claiming that Brett never touched the base originally. After denying his claim, he threw it to the second basemen. It was a crafty and well thought plan, although it never worked.
Ultimately, the Yankees went on to lose the game 5-4 and MLB listened to nonstop criticism of how they handled the entire situation.