Pine tar
Pine tar is produced by a process called destructive distillation of the wood from a pine tree. The wood is rapidly decomposed by applying heat and pressure in a closed container; the primary resulting products are charcoal and pine tar.
Pine tar is a complex combination distillate containing thousands of substances, produced by the high temperature carbonization of pine wood in anoxic conditions (dry distillation). It consists primarily of aromatic hydrocarbons, tar acids and tar bases. Components of tar vary according to the pyrolytic process (e.g. method, duration, temperature) and origin of the wood (e.g. age of pine trees, type of soil and moisture conditions during tree growth). The choice of wood, design of kiln, burning and collection of the tar can vary from burning to burning. Only stumps and roots of pine are used in the traditional production of pine tar.
Pine tar has a long history of use as a wood preservative, as a wood sealant for maritime use, in soaps, in roofing construction and maintenance, and in the treatment of skin diseases.
The Use of Pine Tar in Sports
An additional, minor use of pine tar is as the sticky substance baseball players use on their bats to improve grip. Pine tar is applied liberally to Major League Baseball bats every season in the United States of America. Because of its sticky texture, pine tar is used by batters to improve grip on the bat and prevent the bat from slipping out of their hands during hard swings.
Rule 1.10(c) of the 2002 Official Rules of Major League Baseball states that batters may apply pine tar only from the handle of the bat extending up for 18 inches. On July 24, 1983, one manager's knowledge of this rule, and a keen eye, led to the infamous Pine Tar Incident.
At Yankee Stadium that day, George Brett of the Kansas City Royals hit a go-ahead, two-run ninth-inning home run off New York Yankees reliever Goose Gossage. Yankee manager Billy Martin had known about Brett's rule infraction long beforehand but waited until his complaint would have the largest impact. After Brett hit the home run, Martin notified umpire Tim McClelland that the pine tar on Brett's bat exceeded the allowable limit. McClelland measured the bat, agreed with Martin and disallowed the home run. Upon McClelland's ruling, Brett went berserk. He stormed out of the dugout and had to be physically restrained as he screamed at McClelland. Also ejected from the game were Kansas City Manager Dick Howser for arguing the call and Royals Relief Pitcher Gaylord Perry for taking and trying to hide the bat.
The game was protested and appealed to the league office. The rule was re-written as a result to state that umpires may not disallow, after the fact, hits gained using bats with too much pine tar on them. American League President Lee MacPhail overruled McClelland, declaring that Brett's home run was valid, and ordering the game to be finished. This was done on August 18. In protest, the Yankees played Don Mattingly (normally a first baseman) at second base, and Ron Guidry (a pitcher) in center field. The Royals won the game 5-4. This came to be known as the "Pine Tar Bat Game"; the bat itself, still tar-stained, resides in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
On June 14, 2005, against the Washington Nationals, Brendan Donnelly of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim had his own pine-tar incident. Replacing starter Ervin Santana in the seventh inning, Donnelly warmed up and was ready to throw his first pitch when Nationals skipper, Frank Robinson asked the umpires to check his glove. They discovered a "significant amount" of pine tar on the heel of it and ejected him from the game for violation of Rule 8.02(b) regarding foreign substances on gloves. Furious, Angels manager Mike Scioscia yelled at Robinson, saying he would "undress" the Nationals pitchers as well. This caused Robinson to storm out to the field and the two managers barked in each other's faces as the dugouts emptied, though no punches were thrown. Donnelly admitted to having the pine tar in his glove but said he didn't consider it cheating. Some pitchers, such as Mark Buehrle and Todd Jones, claimed it is a common--if not well-kept--secret among pitchers. Nonetheless, Donnelly received a 10-day suspension.