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How to Throw a Spitball

Two Parts:Throwing TechniqueGetting Away With ItCommunity Q&A

A spitball is a trick pitch that was banned after the 1920 professional baseball season. When thrown correctly by a pitcher, a spitball moves in unpredictable ways, because the surface of the baseball has been wetted slightly to affect its trajectory and spin. See Step 1 to learn more about throwing this old classic.

Part 1
Throwing Technique

  1. 1
    Put a small amount of saliva or vaseline on the baseball. The object is to create resistance and a change in the uniform weight of the ball to make its motion more unpredictable and difficult to hit. There's no "right place" to put it, since the object is unpredictability, as with a knuckleball.[1]
    • Alternatively, scratching the ball with a file or sandpaper can be a similarly-effective way of messing with the weight and the trajectory. It's still illegal, but it's a possibility.
    • Since the friction between your fingers and the ball gives the ball its spin, you can also keep the goop on your finger while you throw. Something slippery, like spit, will reduce the friction of the pitch, achieving a similar effect. It's not illegal to lick your fingers before throwing a pitch.[2]
  2. 2
    Throw a fastball. There's no specific technique to the spitball that's different than a regular fastball. Throw a fastball as you normally would, using the same grip and technique, though the result should have action similar to that of a knuckleball.
    • If you've just got some wetness on your fingers when you pitch, it might be somewhat more difficult to control, slipping out of your hand as opposed to rolling out as with a normal fastball. It may take some practice to get used to the feeling.
  3. 3
    Throw a forkball instead. A forkball or a split-finger fastball are legal pitches that behave in much the same way, looking at first like traditional fastballs but then behaving unpredictably, often slowing and sinking at the last minute when thrown correctly. In a forkball, the ball is seated more deeply between the forked fingers, whereas the split-finger fastball is a more modern and comfortable version of the same pitch.
    • With the great diversity of off-speed pitches available to the pitching repertoire, it's recommended to always favor some other pitch, as opposed to relying upon an illegal spitball to strike out your opponents. It's a fun thing to learn for novelty's sake, but you can't and shouldn't use it in a game.
  4. 4
    Get the ball wet some other way. Sometimes called a "spitball from God," the ball will behave somewhat differently, offering sharper breaking trajectories for the pitcher in damp conditions. Pitching in areas with a high humidity will offer a similar effect, as well as pitches in slightly drizzly rain conditions. If it's wet out, you'll be throwing spitball whether you like it or not.

Part 2
Getting Away With It

  1. 1
    Hide vaseline on the inside brim of your hat. Historically, one of the most popular ways to get away with applying an illegal substance to the ball was to dab a little bit of vaseline or personal lubricant on the inside brim of your hat in the dugout. Before pitching, readjust your cap slightly and take a little of the substance off with your thumb and apply it to the ball before pitching.
  2. 2
    Slip some slicking substances inside your glove. Less common, but still effective is the technique of rubbing a little vaseline on the inside lip of your glove and dabbing it on when you've got the ball in your mitt. Be sure to only use as small an amount as possible and use your spitball judiciously if you decide to do it.
  3. 3
    "Scratch" the back of your knee. It's possible to "accidentally" rub up against some vaseline in the dugout and end up with a small amount on the back of your leg. If you, say, scratched the back of your leg and ended up with some on your fingers before a pitch, well, that wouldn't be your fault. Right?
  4. 4
    Keep a scratcher on you. Nail files, emery boards, or even small pieces of sandpaper are sometimes hidden in the glove, or cupped in the finger during a pitch to scratch the ball and affect the trajectory like a spitball. "Double Duty" Radcliffe, a pitcher in the '30s, used to hide a nail file in his belt buckle during games to scratch the ball on as he prepared for a pitch.
  5. 5
    Avoid showering before the game. In the gray area of legality is the greasy-hair pitch. If you've got some dirty locks, you can get your head a little damp with a small amount of water before heading to the mound, then take off your cap and run the fingers of your pitching hand through your hair before pitching. The grease from your hair will be wet enough to come off easily and can affect the ball significantly.
  6. 6
    Understand the risks. The penalty for throwing a single spitball can be expulsion from the game, and even the league. As recently as the '80s, MLB pitches have been suspended and fined after being caught with scuffing objects on their person while on the field. Again, it's a fun thing to try in the backyard or in the sandlot, but don't try it in a game.

Community Q&A

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  • Experiment with the spitball. With so many variations on how and where to alter the baseball, coupled with concealing your illegal substance before throwing the pitch, you'll have to experiment to find what combination offers the most desirable results.


  • Throwing a spitball is illegal in an organized baseball game. Using a spitball during game time could result in your ejection from the game or suspension from the league.
  • Scratching or cutting the baseball also results in atypical movement. Purposefully cutting or scratching the ball is also considered a spitball and is illegal in organized baseball leagues.

Things You'll Need

  • A baseball
  • A clear substance
  • A baseball glove

Article Info

Categories: Pitching

In other languages:

Español: lanzar una bola ensalivada, Русский: бросить спитбол в бейсболе, Português: Arremessar uma Spitball no Beisebol, Français: lancer une "spitball", Bahasa Indonesia: Melempar Spitball

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