# What's that crap on top of major league batting helmets? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 14, 2005, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-crap-on-top-of-major-league-batting-helmets/326168 "2005-10-14T03:21:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Torgo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@Torgo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Torgo)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-crap-on-top-of-major-league-batting-helmets/326168/1 "2005-10-14T03:21:46Z")
It looks like brown tar or sap or dried mud. Anyone? Bueller? ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-crap-on-top-of-major-league-batting-helmets/326168/2 "2005-10-14T03:25:27Z")
It’s pine tar. Helps the batters get a grip on the bat. If you keep it on your helmet, you always have a handy supply. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-crap-on-top-of-major-league-batting-helmets/326168/3 "2005-10-14T03:29:52Z")
I don’t think they put it on their helmets to have a ready supply. I think it’s just trendy. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-crap-on-top-of-major-league-batting-helmets/326168/4 "2005-10-14T03:31:05Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I don’t think they put it on their helmets to have a ready supply. I think it’s just trendy. Those are not mutually exclusive. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-crap-on-top-of-major-league-batting-helmets/326168/5 "2005-10-14T03:42:21Z")
> [@Q.E.D.](#): > > Those are not mutually exclusive. No, but I think it’s trendy without the attempt at utility. How would you transfer the pine tar from the helmet to the bat? Rub it off the helmet with a cloth, then rub the cloth on the handle of the bat and hope it spreads evenly? I don’t think rubbing the bat against the helmet would be quick or productive. Maybe I have a misunderstanding of the texture of pine tar, but it seems to me that with a sticky substance like that, it would be way more trouble than it’s worth. The team can just keep some of the stuff in the dugout. ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-crap-on-top-of-major-league-batting-helmets/326168/6 "2005-10-14T03:52:07Z")
I always thought the pine tar was on the bat (however it gets there), the hands were on the bat, thus getting p.t. on them, then batter occasionally adjusts his helmet, thus getting a dab o’ tar on there. Over a season, if he doesn’t specifically clean it off, the helmet gets a buildup, thereby showing all who care that (a) he’s a vet’rn player, dagnabbit and (2) he ain’t no sissy what hasta wash stuff. I once heard a comedian (or comedienne) say that the real reason for baseball was so guys could do IN PUBLIC all the stuff their moms told them not to do: slide in the dirt, hold a big plug of chaw tobaccy in their cheek, spit, and – most of all – scratch their privates in front of everybody. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-crap-on-top-of-major-league-batting-helmets/326168/7 "2005-10-14T03:52:29Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I think it’s just trendy. I’ve only started noticing this in the past few years, especially with the Red Sox in the playoffs last year. Some teams, such as the Yankees, seem to keep their helmets clean. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-crap-on-top-of-major-league-batting-helmets/326168/8 "2005-10-14T03:54:41Z")
At least one [Major League player](http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2004/07/16/nixon_its_dirty_pool/) keeps pine tar on his helmet deliberately: > [@Trot Nixon](#): > > “The reason I put pine tar on my helmet is so I don’t have to put as much on the bat. Manny [Ramirez] was the first one to suggest I do that.” ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-crap-on-top-of-major-league-batting-helmets/326168/9 "2005-10-14T04:06:59Z")
And when you start getting tips from baseball’s idiot-savant, you better heed them! ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-crap-on-top-of-major-league-batting-helmets/326168/10 "2005-10-14T04:23:24Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > I’ve only started noticing this in the past few years, especially with the Red Sox in the playoffs last year. I think Craig Biggio has done it for a long time. I don’t know when it started getting popular. > [@Q.E.D.](#): > > At least one [Major League player](http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2004/07/16/nixon_its_dirty_pool/) keeps pine tar on his helmet deliberately: Ah, the idea being that you can get the pine tar on your glove and then not need to spread it on the bat. That would make sense. > [@MLS](#): > > I always thought the pine tar was on the bat (however it gets there), the hands were on the bat, thus getting p.t. on them, then batter occasionally adjusts his helmet, thus getting a dab o’ tar on there. Just about everybody who does this has the pine tar over the logo on his batting hemlet. I think you’d find it on the bill if it was moving from the bat to the hands to the hemlet. ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-crap-on-top-of-major-league-batting-helmets/326168/11 "2005-10-14T04:35:30Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > No, but I think it’s trendy without the attempt at utility. How would you transfer the pine tar from the helmet to the bat? Rub it off the helmet with a cloth, then rub the cloth on the handle of the bat and hope it spreads evenly? I don’t think rubbing the bat against the helmet would be quick or productive. Maybe I have a misunderstanding of the texture of pine tar, but it seems to me that with a sticky substance like that, it would be way more trouble than it’s worth. The team can just keep some of the stuff in the dugout. You rub your hands, with or without gloves on the helmet and that gets it on the hands where you want it. Some batters keep a supply up on the bat a little above where they grip. They they rub the bat to get the tar on their hands. There is, or was, even a rule as to how far up toward the barrel of the bat there could be pine tar. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-crap-on-top-of-major-league-batting-helmets/326168/12 "2005-10-14T04:48:05Z")
> [@David Simmons](#): > > There is, or was, even a rule as to how far up toward the barrel of the bat there could be pine tar. Still is: > [@](#): > > 1.10 > © The bat handle, for not more than 18 inches from its end, may be covered or treated with any material or substance to improve the grip. Any such material or substance, which extends past the 18 inch limitation, shall cause the bat to be removed from the game. NOTE: If the umpire discovers that the bat does not conform to © above until a time during or after which the bat has been used in play, it shall not be grounds for declaring the batter out, or ejected from the game. I believe the “Note” was added after the notorious Billy Martin/George Brett [“Pine Tar Game”.](http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/history/2003/030624.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-crap-on-top-of-major-league-batting-helmets/326168/13 "2005-10-14T04:53:07Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > I believe the “Note” was added after the notorious Billy Martin/George Brett [“Pine Tar Game”.](http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/history/2003/030624.htm) 'Twas. As I understand it, the original ‘18 inches’ rule was created in a time when the MLB didn’t have a huge supply of baseballs at every game, to make sure the ball didn’t get dirty. ---
**Author:** ![Neurotik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@Neurotik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neurotik)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-crap-on-top-of-major-league-batting-helmets/326168/14 "2005-10-14T11:36:28Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Just about everybody who does this has the pine tar over the logo on his batting hemlet. I think you’d find it on the bill if it was moving from the bat to the hands to the hemlet. I don’t think so. I think the crown of the helmet is the most logical place. The bill isn’t really that wide, so if you had the pine tar on the helmet, you’d have to tap the helmet sideways and with your fingers pretty close together. If it’s on the crown, then it’s an easy motion where you can cup your hand with your fingers spread a bit more. Try it and compare the two motions and see which is more natural and amenable to a quick pine tar touch up on the hands. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-crap-on-top-of-major-league-batting-helmets/326168/15 "2005-10-14T14:25:55Z")
It’s just trendy. It simply did not happen 10-15 years ago, and as has already been noted, it seems to be popular on some teams and not others. There is simply no real reason to have to have pine tar on your helmet. Sure, then you have more pine tar, but there’s always a handy supply in the one deck circle, and you cannot run out of pine tar in the one to three minutes is takes to walk from the on deck circle and complete your at bat. ---
**Author:** ![Flipshod](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f19dbf/32.png) [@Flipshod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flipshod)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-crap-on-top-of-major-league-batting-helmets/326168/16 "2005-10-14T15:20:14Z")
> [@Neurotik](#): > > I don’t think so. I think the crown of the helmet is the most logical place. The bill isn’t really that wide, so if you had the pine tar on the helmet, you’d have to tap the helmet sideways and with your fingers pretty close together. If it’s on the crown, then it’s an easy motion where you can cup your hand with your fingers spread a bit more. Try it and compare the two motions and see which is more natural and amenable to a quick pine tar touch up on the hands. Also, you don’t just slip a batting helmet on like a cap, you have to push it down from the top to get it all the way on–keeps it from flying off when you run–so you’re gonna touch that part of it every time, right when you need the tar applied. ---
**Author:** ![Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cab0a1/32.png) [@Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Man_With_a_Cat)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-crap-on-top-of-major-league-batting-helmets/326168/17 "2005-10-14T15:22:49Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > It’s just trendy. It simply did not happen 10-15 years ago, and as has already been noted, it seems to be popular on some teams and not others. > > There is simply no real reason to have to have pine tar on your helmet. Sure, then you have more pine tar, but there’s always a handy supply in the one deck circle, and you cannot run out of pine tar in the one to three minutes is takes to walk from the on deck circle and complete your at bat. When Ozzie Guillen played with the White Sox, back in the 80’s, you couldn’t tell what color his helmet was by mid-deason. There was no visible logo from the pine tar build up. ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-crap-on-top-of-major-league-batting-helmets/326168/18 "2005-10-14T16:12:52Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > 'Twas. As I understand it, the original ‘18 inches’ rule was created in a time when the MLB didn’t have a huge supply of baseballs at every game, to make sure the ball didn’t get dirty. I’m inclined to skepticism on this. Even during the great depression of the 1930’s there wasn’t any shortage of baseballs at big league games. ---
**Author:** ![jawdirk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df705f/32.png) [@jawdirk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jawdirk)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-crap-on-top-of-major-league-batting-helmets/326168/19 "2005-10-14T16:19:53Z")
> [@David Simmons](#): > > I’m inclined to skepticism on this. Even during the great depression of the 1930’s there wasn’t any shortage of baseballs at big league games. I agree. My daddy told me that the reason is to prevent foreign substances from getting on the baseball, which a skilled pitcher could use to get unnatural spin on the ball (spit ball). ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-crap-on-top-of-major-league-batting-helmets/326168/20 "2005-10-14T17:01:55Z")
> [@jawdirk](#): > > I agree. My daddy told me that the reason is to prevent foreign substances from getting on the baseball, which a skilled pitcher could use to get unnatural spin on the ball (spit ball). That sounds more like it. Although a pitcher can get tossed for just pitching a ball with a foreign material on it even though he didn’t apply it.