Pine Tar Incident

{{Short description|1983 baseball dispute about a tarred bat}} {{Use American English|date=May 2026}} {{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}} {{Infobox baseball game |year = |game = Pine Tar Incident |image = Image:George brett pine tar bat rotated.JPG |caption = The baseball bat used by Kansas City Royals third baseman George Brett in the Pine Tar Incident on July 24, 1983 |visitor = '''Kansas City Royals''' |home = New York Yankees |date = July 24 – August 18, 1983 |venue = Yankee Stadium |city = Bronx, New York |attendance = 33,944 |umpires = {{unbulleted list |HP: Tim McClelland |1B: Drew Coble |2B: Joe Brinkman |3B: Nick Bremigan }} |television = WDAF-TV (Royals' broadcast) WPIX (Yankees’ broadcast)<ref>{{Cite episode |title=Kansas City Royals vs. New York Yankees |series=New York Yankees |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jvu_1JMY36k&t=0s |access-date=March 7, 2022 |station=WPIX |location=New York, NY |date=July 24, 1983 |minutes=00:00 |language=en}}{{cbignore}}</ref> |tv_announcers = '''WDAF-TV''': Denny Matthews, Fred White and Denny Trease '''WPIX''': Phil Rizzuto, Frank Messer, Bill White and Bobby Murcer |radio = WIBW (Royals' broadcast) WABC (Yankees’ broadcast) <ref>{{Cite episode |title=Kansas City Royals vs. New York Yankees |series=New York Yankees Baseball |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNfIWp2Qupk&t=0s |access-date=March 7, 2022 |station=WABC (AM) |location=New York, NY |date=July 24, 1983 |minutes=00:00 |language=en}}{{cbignore}}</ref> |radio_announcers = '''WIBW''': Matthews and White '''WABC''': Rizzuto, Messer, White, and John Gordon |top1 = 0 |top2 = 1 |top3 = 0 |top4 = 1 |top5 = 0 |top6 = 1 |top7 = 0 |top8 = 0 |top9 = 2 |visitor_r = 5 |visitor_h = 13 |visitor_e = 0 |bot1 = 0 |bot2 = 1 |bot3 = 0 |bot4 = 0 |bot5 = 0 |bot6 = 3 |bot7 = 0 |bot8 = 0 |bot9 = 0 |home_r = 4 |home_h = 8 |home_e = 0 }}

The '''Pine Tar Incident''' (also known as the '''Pine Tar Game''') was a controversial incident in {{mlby|1983}} during an American League baseball game played between the Kansas City Royals and New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium in New York City on Sunday, July 24, 1983.

With his team trailing 4–3 in the top half of the ninth inning and two out, the Royals' future Hall of Fame third baseman George Brett hit a two-run home run off future Hall of Fame Yankee closer Rich "Goose" Gossage to give his team the lead; however, Yankee manager Billy Martin, who had noticed a large amount of pine tar<ref>{{Cite news |last=Petri |first=Josh |date=April 24, 2014 |title=What Is Pine Tar And Why Is It Illegal In Baseball? |language=en |work=Digg |url=http://digg.com/2014/what-is-pine-tar-and-why-is-it-illegal-in-baseball |access-date=April 27, 2018}}</ref> on Brett's bat, requested that the umpires inspect his bat. The umpires ruled that the amount on the bat exceeded that allowed by rule, nullified Brett's home run, and called him out. As Brett was the third out in the ninth inning with the home team in the lead, the game ended with a Yankees win.<ref name="stwlsspt">{{cite news |last=Chass |first=Murray |author-link=Murray Chass |date=July 25, 1983 |title=KC stuck with loss after pine tar homer |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=MJEzAAAAIBAJ&pg=6306%2C4309842 |work=Lawrence Journal-World |location=Kansas |page=11 |via=Google News |agency=The New York Times}}</ref><ref name="stkryll">{{cite news |last=Jackson |first=Derrick |date=July 25, 1983 |title=Yankees stick it to Brett Royally on using an illegal bat |page=C6 |work=The Pittsburgh Press |agency=The Washington Post |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=fuIhAAAAIBAJ&pg=4776%2C4794632 |via=Google News}}</ref>

The Royals protested the game, upheld by American League president Lee MacPhail, who ordered that the game be continued from the point of Brett's home run.<ref name="rbywin">{{cite news |date=July 29, 1983 |title=Ruling by MacPhail yanks win from N.Y. |page=12 |work=Reading Eagle |agency=Associated Press |location=Pennsylvania |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=PcAxAAAAIBAJ&pg=5112%2C5560006 |via=Google News}}</ref><ref name="courfgo">{{cite news |date=July 29, 1983 |title=Brett says ruling courageous, but Yankees can't figure it out |page=15 |work=Lawrence Journal-World |agency=Associated Press |location=Kansas |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=NJEzAAAAIBAJ&pg=3674%2C5007997 |via=Google News}}</ref><ref name="bhuan">{{cite news |date=July 29, 1983 |title=Brett happy, umps angry |page=C2 |work=The Pittsburgh Press |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=guIhAAAAIBAJ&pg=5139%2C6229003 |via=Google News}}</ref> The game was resumed 25 days later on August 18 and officially ended with the Royals winning {{nowrap|5–4}}.<ref name=Pittsburgh/><ref name="tarvic">{{cite news |date=August 19, 1983 |title=Quisenberry saves tar victory; Yankees file one more protest |page=11 |work=Lawrence Journal-World |agency=Associated Press |location=Kansas |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=KJwyAAAAIBAJ&pg=6459%2C4362294 |via=Google News}}</ref>

==Overview== [[File:George Brett 1990 CROP.jpg|thumb|right|George Brett hit the home run that ultimately won the game for the Kansas City Royals]]

The visiting Royals were trailing 3–4 with two outs in the top of the ninth in a game being played at New York's Yankee Stadium. With U L Washington on first base George Brett came to the plate and reliever Dale Murray was replaced by closer Rich "Goose" Gossage. After fouling off the first pitch to the left, Brett connected on a high strike and put it well into the right field stands for a two-run home run, giving the Royals a 5–4 lead.<ref name=stwlsspt/><ref name=stkryll/>

As Brett crossed the plate, Yankees manager Billy Martin approached rookie home plate umpire Tim McClelland and requested Brett's bat to be examined. Before the game, Martin and other members of the Yankees had noticed the excessive pine tar used by Brett, but Martin had chosen not to say anything until it was strategically right to do so.<ref>{{cite web |last=Weinberg |first=Rick |date=July 2, 2004 |title=Pine tar nullifies home run, so Brett goes ballistic |url=https://www.espn.com/espn/espn25/story?page=moments/67 |access-date=December 3, 2009 |website=ESPN}}</ref> Yankees third baseman and captain Graig Nettles recalled a similar incident involving Thurman Munson in a {{Baseball year|1975}} game against the Minnesota Twins.<ref>{{cite web |date=July 19, 1975 |title=Retrosheet Boxscore: Minnesota Twins 2, New York Yankees 1 |url=http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1975/B07190MIN1975.htm |access-date=July 12, 2009 |website=Retrosheet}}</ref> In Nettles' autobiography ''Balls'', Nettles claims that he actually informed Martin of the pine tar rule, as Nettles had previously undergone the same scrutiny with his own bat while with the Twins.

With Brett watching from the dugout, McClelland and the rest of the umpiring crew, Drew Coble, Joe Brinkman, and Nick Bremigan, examined the bat. Measuring the extent of the pine tar against the {{convert|17|in|cm|disp=or||}} width of home plate, they determined that the amount, which covered about 24 inches of the bat, exceeded that allowed by Rule 1.10(c) of the Major League Baseball rule book, which read that "a bat may not be covered by such a substance more than {{convert|18|in|disp=sqbr|cm||}} from the tip of the handle." Because of this, the crew determined that Brett's home run constituted an "illegally batted ball", and under the terms of the then-existing provisions of Rule 6.06, any batter who hit an illegally batted ball was automatically called out. The umpires concluded that Brett's home run was disallowed under this interpretation, and he was out, thus ending the game.{{Citation needed|date=May 2026}}

McClelland searched for Brett in the visitors' dugout, pointed at him with the bat, and signaled that he was out, handing the Yankees a 4–3 win. An enraged Brett emerged from of the dugout and confronted McClelland before being physically restrained by his manager Dick Howser, several of his teammates, and crew chief Joe Brinkman. Despite the furious protests of Brett and Howser, McClelland's ruling stood.<ref name=stwlsspt/><ref name=stkryll/>

{{blockquote|He's out! Brett is out! Look at this!...He is out, and having to be forcibly restrained from hitting plate umpire Tim McClelland. And the Yankees have won the ball game 4 to 3! Brett is called out for using an...illegal substance on the bat!|Sportscaster Frank Messer on WPIX.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.facebook.com/MLBonFOX/videos/george-brett-pine-tar-game/199421732033049/ |title=George Brett Pine Tar Game {{!}} On this date in 1983, Kansas City Royals 3B George Brett hit a go-ahead HR vs the New York Yankees in the 9th, but was then ruled out |date=July 24, 2021 |last=MLB on FOX |type=Television production |time=2:35 |access-date=2025-02-25 |via=Facebook}}</ref>}}

==Protest and reversal== [[File:Lee MacPhail 2004.jpg|thumb|right|American League president Lee MacPhail ruled that Brett's home run counted]]

The Royals protested the game. Four days later, American League president Lee MacPhail upheld the Royals' protest. In explaining his decision, MacPhail noted that the "spirit of the restriction" on pine tar on bats was based not on the fear of unfair advantage, but simple economics; any contact with pine tar would discolor the ball, render it unsuitable for play, and require that it be discarded and replaced—thus increasing the home team's cost of supplying balls for a given game. MacPhail ruled that Brett had not violated the spirit of the rules nor deliberately "altered [the bat] to improve the distance factor".<ref name=courfgo/><ref name=bhuan/>

MacPhail's ruling followed his own precedent established after a protest in 1975 of the September 7 game played between the Royals and the California Angels.<ref>{{cite web |last=Tourtellotte |first=Shane |date=July 18, 2012 |title=The pine tar games |url=http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/printarticle/the-pine-tar-games/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130203005623/http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/printarticle/the-pine-tar-games/ |archive-date=February 3, 2013 |access-date=July 10, 2013 |website=The Hardball Times}}</ref> In that game, the umpiring crew had declined to negate one of John Mayberry's home runs for excessive pine tar use. MacPhail upheld the umpires' decision with the interpretation that the intent of the rule was to prevent baseballs from being discolored during game play and that any discoloration that may have occurred to a ball leaving the ballpark did not affect the game's competitive balance.{{Citation needed|date=May 2026}}

MacPhail thus restored Brett's home run and ordered the game resumed with two outs in the top of the ninth inning with the Royals leading 5–4. However, he retroactively ejected Brett for his outburst against McClelland, Howser and Royals coach Rocky Colavito for arguing with the umpires, and Royals pitcher Gaylord Perry for giving the bat to the bat boy so he could hide it in the clubhouse away from officials.{{Citation needed|date=May 2026}}

==Conclusion== ===Strategic maneuvering=== After ordering the resumption of play, MacPhail and other league officials held a strategy session to anticipate tricks the Yankees might use to prevent the game from continuing,<ref name="Norwalk">{{cite news |last=Young |first=Dick |author-link=Dick Young (sportswriter) |date=August 22, 1983 |title=MacPhail's Folly |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=nDRJAAAAIBAJ&dq=bob-fishel%20affidavit%20martin&pg=2117%2C3226978 |newspaper=The Hour |location=Norwalk, Conn. |page=17 |via=Google News |quote=After MacPhail ordered the Yanks and KC to play the last of the ninth inning, Lee and Bob Fishel and others in the league office held a meeting to discuss counter-strategy. They tried to anticipate what tricks the Yankees might come up with when they got on the field to play those last few outs. [...] And at that meeting it was Bob Fishel who suggested they should be ready in case the Yankees claimed Brett missed a base}}</ref> which included the possibility the Yankees might claim Brett or Washington missed a base, automatically ruling them out, and, depending on which, preventing one or both runs from scoring.

Indeed, the Yankees resisted the resumption of the game, and they hoped to forestall doing so until near the end of the season to see if the game would have an effect on the standings or should be forfeited.<ref name="Pittsburgh">{{cite news |date=August 19, 1983 |title=Yankees, Royals, courts put an end to Tar Wars |page=13 |newspaper=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=v6lRAAAAIBAJ&dq=orest-maresca%20joseph-sullivan&pg=7082%2C4514160 |access-date=June 30, 2011 |via=Google News}}</ref> Instead, the game was scheduled for 25 days after its suspension, to be resumed on August 18, 1983.{{Citation needed|date=May 2026}}

===Legal battle=== For the resumption of the game, the Yankees announced that they would charge non-season-ticket holders a $2.50 admission fee to attend. Two lawsuits were filed against the Yankees in Bronx Supreme Court (trial court). Justice Orest Maresca issued an injunction, also requested by the Yankees, preventing the game from being resumed until the lawsuits were litigated.<ref name=Pittsburgh /> Maresca also cited the Yankees' expressed concerns about security problems resulting from confusion over admission to the game.<ref name="Junction">{{cite news |date=August 18, 1983 |title=Judge blocks conclusion of KC–NY 'pine-tar' game |page=9 |newspaper=The Daily Union |agency=Associated Press |location=Junction City, Kansas |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=eZI_AAAAIBAJ&dq=orest-maresca&pg=3504%2C3897095 |access-date=June 30, 2011 |via=Google News}}</ref>

That injunction was immediately appealed by the American League and was overturned by Supreme Court Appellate Division Justice Joseph Sullivan, who issued the extremely short and simple decision of "Play ball."{{cn |date=April 2026 |reason=Direct quotes should have sources cited. I found Sullivan discussed on page 17 of the source cited at the end of the paragraph, but without the quote.}} The Royals, who were in flight during that day's legal battles, did not know whether the game would be played until they arrived at Newark Airport.<ref name=Pittsburgh/>

The Yankees finally agreed to allow admission for the game's conclusion to anybody with a ticket stub from the July 24 game at no additional charge.<ref name=Pittsburgh/>

===Resumption of play=== August 18 had been a scheduled off-day for both teams. The ejected Brett did not accompany the team from the airport in New Jersey. Instead, he was to depart directly for Baltimore, where the Royals were scheduled to play the next day,<ref name=Pittsburgh/> although other sources indicate Brett waited for the rest of the team, passing the time playing hearts.<ref name="Chicago">{{cite news |last=van Dyck |first=Dave |date=August 20, 1983 |title=Final act of pine tar farce is panned by critics |newspaper=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |agency=Chicago Sun-Times |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=wKlRAAAAIBAJ&pg=3882%2C4848647 |via=Google News}}</ref> In a 2024 interview, Brett stated he went to an Italian restaurant near the airport while the game was concluded.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ounj8uuS2sM |title=Hall of Famer George Brett Talks "Pine Tar Game" Anniversary & More with Rich Eisen |date=2024-07-26 |last=The Rich Eisen Show |access-date=2024-08-06 |via=YouTube}}</ref>

The game was resumed from the point of Brett's home run, with about 1,200 fans in attendance. A still-furious Martin made what some initially construed as a mere symbolic protest of continuing the game by putting ace starter Ron Guidry in center field (his second big-league appearance there; he had played an inning in center in 1979) and first baseman Don Mattingly at second base.<ref name="Merced">{{cite news |date=August 19, 1983 |title=Infamous pine tar game over in 12 minutes |page=15 |newspaper=Merced Sun-Star |agency=Associated Press |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=6q1cAAAAIBAJ&dq=guidry-in-center&pg=6595%2C3198021 |url-status=dead |access-date=June 30, 2011 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130124131409/http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=6q1cAAAAIBAJ&sjid=m1gNAAAAIBAJ&dq=guidry-in-center&pg=6595,3198021 |archive-date=January 24, 2013 |via=Google News}}</ref> Mattingly replaced the second baseman from the July 24 game, Bert Campaneris, who was injured, and Guidry replaced original center fielder Jerry Mumphrey, who had been traded on August 10 to the Houston Astros. With Mattingly set to lead off the bottom of the ninth, the move allowed the substitution of another potent batter (Ken Griffey) to play first base, and made the Yankees' top starter available to pitch if needed, all while avoiding "wast[ing] a possible pinch hitter or runner".<ref name=Merced/>

Mattingly became a rare Major League left-handed second baseman; no left-hander had played second base or shortstop in a big-league game since Cleveland Indians left-handed pitcher Sam McDowell was switched from pitcher to second base for one batter in a game in {{mlby|1970}} against the Washington Senators in order to avoid facing right-handed Senators slugger Frank Howard.<ref>{{cite web |date=July 6, 1970 |title=July 6, 1970 Washington Senators at Cleveland Indians Play by Play and Box Score |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CLE/CLE197007060.shtml |access-date=July 10, 2013 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |publisher=Sports Reference}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Preston |first1=J.G. |date=September 6, 2009 |title=Left-handed throwing second basemen, shortstops and third basemen |url=https://prestonjg.wordpress.com/2009/09/06/left-handed-throwing-second-basemen-shortstops-and-third-basemen/ |access-date=January 29, 2017 |website=The J.G. Preston Experience}}</ref>

[[File:Billymartin1.jpg|thumb|right|Yankees manager Billy Martin unsuccessfully argued that the Royals baserunners had not touched each base]]

Before the first pitch to Hal McRae (who followed Brett in the lineup), Yankee pitcher George Frazier threw the first ball to first base to challenge Brett's home run on the grounds that Brett had not touched first base.<ref name=Merced /> Umpire Tim Welke (given incorrectly in some sources as Tim McClelland, the original home plate umpire<ref name=Merced />) called safe, even though he had not officiated the July 24 game and seen Brett touch the bases.<ref name=Pittsburgh /> Frazier then threw to second, claiming that the base was touched by neither Brett nor U L Washington, the other player scoring on the home run, but umpire Dave Phillips, chief of the new crew, signaled safe.<ref name=Merced />

Martin went on the field to argue, and, anticipating just such a gambit, Phillips pulled out a notarized statement produced by MacPhail's administrative assistant Bob Fishel and signed by all four umpires from July 24 indicating that Brett had touched every base.<ref name=Merced/><ref name=Norwalk/> Martin claimed to be surprised by the statement because he had spoken by telephone to the first base umpire from July 24, Drew Coble, who had said that he was not looking at first base when Brett had circled first base. Martin then lodged a protest, announced by the umpires, that the game's outcome was being challenged by the Yankees.<ref name=Pittsburgh/>

Frazier struck out Hal McRae to end the top of the ninth, 25 days after the inning had begun. Royals' closer Dan Quisenberry retired New York in order—Mattingly flying to center, Roy Smalley flying to left, and Oscar Gamble (pinch hitting for Ron Guidry) grounding to second-for the save<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 24, 1983 |title=Retrosheet Boxscore: Kansas City Royals 5, New York Yankees 4 |url=https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1983/B07240NYA1983.htm |access-date= |website=Retrosheet}}</ref> preserving the Royals' 5–4 win.<ref name=Pittsburgh/>

The loss placed the Yankees in fifth place, three and a half games out of first.<ref name=Pittsburgh/> Neither team advanced to the postseason.{{Citation needed|date=May 2026}}

Quisenberry gained his league-leading 33rd save, while Mattingly lost a 25-game hitting streak.<ref name=Chicago/>

==Aftermath== The bat is currently on display in the Baseball Hall of Fame, where it has been since 1987. During a broadcast of ''Mike & Mike in the Morning'', ESPN analyst Tim Kurkjian stated that Brett used the bat for a few games after the incident until being cautioned that the bat would be worthless if broken. Brett sold the bat to famed collector and then-partial owner of the Yankees, Barry Halper, for $25,000 (equivalent to ${{inflation|US|25000|1983|r=-3|fmt=c}} in {{inflation/year|US}}),<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kepner |first=Tyler |author-link=Tyler Kepner |date=July 24, 2008 |title=Whatever Happened to Brett's Pine-Tar Bat? |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/bats.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07/24/what-ever-happened-to-bretts-pine-tar-bat/ |access-date=September 29, 2010 |website=The New York Times}}</ref> had second thoughts, repurchased the bat for the same amount, and then donated it to the Hall of Fame.

The home-run ball was caught by journalist Ephraim Schwartz, who sold it and his game ticket stub to Halper for $500 (equivalent to ${{inflation|US|500|1983|r=-2|fmt=c}} in {{inflation/year|US}}) plus 12 Yankees tickets.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schwartz |first=Ephraim |date=July 22, 2008 |title=Can high tech really improve baseball? |url=https://www.infoworld.com/article/2640068/can-high-tech-really-improve-baseball-.html |access-date=September 29, 2010 |website=InfoWorld |language=en}}</ref><ref name="SI">{{Cite magazine |last=Lidz |first=Franz |date=May 22, 1995 |title=The Sultan Of Swap: From Babe Ruth's Spittoon To George Brett's Pine Tar, Barry Halper Has Begged, Bought And Bartered For A Fabulous Trove Of Baseball Treasures |url=https://vault.si.com/vault/1995/05/22/the-sultan-of-swap-from-babe-ruths-spittoon-to-george-bretts-pine-tar-barry-halper-has-begged-bought-and-bartered-for-a-fabulous-trove-of-baseball-treasures |access-date=July 27, 2015 |magazine=Sports Illustrated}}</ref> Halper also acquired the signed business card of Justice Orest V. Maresca, who had issued the injunction, and the can of Oriole Pine Tar Brett had used on the bat. Gossage later signed the pine-tar ball, "Barry, I threw the fucking thing".<ref>{{cite book|last1=Olson|first1=Greg|last2=Palmer|first2=Ocean|title=We Got to Play Baseball: 60 Stories from Men Who Played the Game|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DnxYnWHp9cwC|year=2012|publisher=Strategic Book Publishing|isbn=978-1-61897-983-4|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=DnxYnWHp9cwC&pg=PA130&dq=%22barry,+i+threw+the+fucking+thing%22 130]}}</ref> The winning pitcher for the Royals was reliever Mike Armstrong. Armstrong said in a 2006 interview that, as the Royals were leaving for the airport after the resumed game, an angry Yankees fan threw a brick from an overpass at Kansas City's bus, cracking its windshield.

"It was wild to go back to New York and play these four outs in a totally empty stadium," Armstrong said in 2006. "I'm dressed in the uniform, and nobody's there."<ref> {{cite web |author=Peters |first=Craig |date=July 23, 2006 |title=Who was the winning pitcher in the legendary pine tar game? |url=http://onlineathens.com/stories/072306/sports_20060723095.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090514065315/http://onlineathens.com/stories/072306/sports_20060723095.shtml |archive-date=May 14, 2009 |access-date=July 12, 2009 |work=Athens Banner-Herald}} </ref>

Before a game against the Yankees at Kauffman Stadium on May 5, 2012, the Royals gave each fan who attended the game a replica baseball bat designed to look like the one Brett used with the pine tar.<ref>{{cite web |last= |first= |date=May 7, 2012 |title=Kansas City Celebrates George Brett With Mini Pine Tar Bat Giveaway (Photo) | MLB |url=http://nesn.com/2012/05/kansas-city-celebrates-george-brett-with-mini-pine-tar-bat-giveaway-photo/ |access-date=August 21, 2014 |website=NESN}}</ref>

As part of the Royals' fiftieth season in 2018, before a game against the Yankees at Kauffman Stadium on May 19, the Royals gave 18,000 fans who attended the game a George Brett Pine Tar bobblehead to celebrate the incident and Royals victory. It depicts Brett, after his home run was nullified, rushing at the umpires in anger.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kleinschmidt |first=Jessica |date=January 25, 2018 |title=The Royals are giving away a George Brett pine tar bobblehead, and yes, he looks intense |url=https://www.mlb.com/cut4/the-royals-are-giving-away-a-george-brett-pine-tar-bobblehead-and-yes-he-looks-intense/c-265341358 |access-date=July 25, 2019 |website=Cut4 |publisher=MLB.com |language=en}}</ref>

In {{mlby|2010}}, Major League Baseball amended the official rules with a comment on rule 1.10(c) clarifying the consequences of using excessive pine tar on a bat. The comment codifies the interpretation of the rule issued by American League president Lee MacPhail in his reversal:

<blockquote>If no objections are raised prior to a bat’s use, then a violation of Rule 1.10(c) on that play does not nullify any action or play on the field and no protests of such play shall be allowed.<ref>{{Cite web |title=2010 Official Baseball Rules |url=http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2010/official_rules/2010_OfficialBaseballRules.pdf |access-date=February 13, 2020 |website=MLB.com}}</ref> </blockquote>

==Scoring== {| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:left" |- |+ Summary – top of the 9th inning ! scope="col"| Pitcher New York Yankees ! scope="col"| Batter Kansas City Royals ! scope="col"| Result (outs in bold) ! scope="col"| Score Royals – Yankees ! scope="col"| Date played |- |rowspan=3|Dale Murray (R) || Don Slaught (R) || '''Ground out to shortstop''' || rowspan=3 style="text-align:center;" |3–4 || rowspan=4 style="text-align:center;" |July 24 |- |Pat Sheridan (L) || '''Line out to first baseman''' |- |U L Washington (S) || Single up the middle |- | style="background:#ddf;|Rich Gossage (R) || style="background:#ddf;|George Brett (L) || style="background:#ddf;| Home run to right|| rowspan=2 style="text-align:center;" |5–4 |- |George Frazier (R) || Hal McRae (R) || '''Strikeout''' || style="text-align: center;" |August 18 |}

== Game results == {{Linescore |Date=July 24, 1983 |Time=2:06{{nbsp}}pm (EDT) |Location=Yankee Stadium in Bronx, New York<ref name="LineScore">{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYA/NYA198307240.shtml |work=Baseball-Reference.com |date=July 24, 1983 |title=Kansas City Royals at New York Yankees Box Score, July 24, 1983 |access-date=March 7, 2022 }}</ref> |Road='''Kansas City Royals'''|RoadAbr=KCR |R1=0|R2=1|R3=0|R4=1|R5=0|R6=1|R7=0|R8=0|R9=2|RR=5|RH=13|RE=0 |Home=New York Yankees|HomeAbr=NYY |H1=0|H2=1|H3=0|H4=0|H5=0|H6=3|H7=0|H8=0|H9=0|HR=4|HH=8|HE=0 |RSP=|HSP= |WP=Mike Armstrong (5–5)|LP=Goose Gossage (7–4)|SV=Dan Quisenberry (24) |RoadHR=George Brett (20) |HomeHR=Dave Winfield (16) |Attendance = 33,944 |}}

=== Box score === {{col-begin}} {{col-break}} {|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" border="2" !scope="col"|Kansas City<ref name="LineScore"/> !scope="col"|AB !scope="col"|R !scope="col"|H !scope="col"|RBI !scope="col"|BB !scope="col"|SO !scope="col"|AVG |- !scope="row"|{{sortname|Willie|Wilson|dab=baseball}}, CF |3 |0 |0 |0 |0 |1 |.278 |- !scope="row"|  {{sortname|Pat|Sheridan}}, PH-CF |2 |0 |0 |0 |0 |1 |.262 |- !scope="row"|{{sortname|U L|Washington}}, SS |5 |1 |1 |0 |0 |1 |.233 |- !scope="row"|{{sortname|George|Brett}}, 3B |5 |1 |3 |2 |0 |0 |.357 |- !scope="row"|  {{sortname|Greg|Pryor}}, 3B |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |.257 |- !scope="row"|{{sortname|Hal|McRae}}, DH |4 |0 |0 |0 |1 |1 |.324 |- !scope="row"|{{sortname|Amos|Otis}}, RF |4 |0 |1 |0 |0 |1 |.269 |- !scope="row"|{{sortname|John|Wathan}}, 1B-LF-1B |3 |2 |1 |0 |1 |0 |.269 |- !scope="row"|{{sortname|Leon|Roberts}}, LF |3 |0 |2 |0 |0 |0 |.272 |- !scope="row"|  {{sortname|Willie|Aikens}}, PH-1B |1 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |.322 |- !scope="row"|  {{sortname|Joe|Simpson|dab=baseball}}, LF |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |.175 |- !scope="row"|{{sortname|Frank|White||dab=baseball}}, 2B |4 |1 |2 |2 |0 |0 |.249 |- !scope="row"|{{sortname|Don|Slaught}}, C |4 |0 |3 |1 |0 |0 |.256 |- class="sortbottom" !scope="row"|'''Team totals''' |38 |5 |13 |5 |2 |4 |.342 |}

{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" border="2" !scope="col"|Kansas City<ref name="LineScore"/> !scope="col"|IP !scope="col"|H !scope="col"|R !scope="col"|ER !scope="col"|BB !scope="col"|SO !scope="col"|HR !scope="col"|ERA |- !scope="row"|{{sortname|Bud|Black}} |6 |7 |4 |4 |0 |2 |1 |3.59 |- !scope="row"|{{sortname|Mike|Armstrong|dab=baseball}} (W, 5–5) |2 |1 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |3.58 |- !scope="row"|{{sortname|Dan|Quisenberry}} (S, 24) |1 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |1.88 |- class="sortbottom" !scope="row"|'''Team totals''' |9 |8 |4 |4 |2 |2 |1 |4.00 |}

{{col-break|gap=1em}} {|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" border="2" !New York<ref name="LineScore"/> !AB !R !H !RBI !BB !SO !AVG |- !scope="row"|{{sortname|Bert|Campaneris}}, 2B |4 |1 |2 |0 |0 |0 |.354 |- !scope="row"|  {{sortname|Ken|Griffey, Sr.}}, 1B |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |.333 |- !scope="row"|{{sortname|Graig|Nettles}}, 3B |3 |0 |0 |0 |1 |1 |.267 |- !scope="row"|{{sortname|Lou|Piniella}}, RF |4 |1 |1 |0 |0 |0 |.304 |- !scope="row"|  {{sortname|Jerry|Mumphrey}}, CF |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |.238 |- !scope="row"|  {{sortname|Butch|Wynegar}}, C |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |.320 |- !scope="row"|{{sortname|Don|Baylor}}, DH |4 |1 |1 |2 |0 |0 |.301 |- !scope="row"|{{sortname|Dave|Winfield}}, CF-LF |4 |1 |3 |2 |0 |0 |.258 |- !scope="row"|{{sortname|Steve|Kemp|dab=baseball}}, LF-RF |4 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |.261 |- !scope="row"|{{sortname|Steve|Balboni}}, 1B |2 |0 |0 |0 |0 |1 |.220 |- !scope="row"|  {{sortname|Don|Mattingly}}, PH-1B-2B |2 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |.286 |- !scope="row"|{{sortname|Roy|Smalley|dab=switch hitter}}, SS |4 |0 |1 |0 |0 |0 |.269 |- !scope="row"|{{sortname|Rick|Cerone}}, C |2 |0 |0 |0 |1 |0 |.183 |- !scope="row"|  {{sortname|Ron|Guidry}}, CF |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |. — |- !scope="row"|  {{sortname|Oscar|Gamble}}, PH |1 |0 |0 |0 |0 |1 |.307 |- class="sortbottom" !scope="row"|'''Team totals''' |31 |4 |8 |4 |2 |5 |.258 |}

{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" border="2" !scope="col"|New York<ref name="LineScore"/> !scope="col"|IP !scope="col"|H !scope="col"|R !scope="col"|ER !scope="col"|BB !scope="col"|SO !scope="col"|HR !scope="col"|ERA |- !scope="row"|{{sortname|Shane|Rawley}} |{{frac|5|1|3}} |10 |3 |3 |2 |2 |0 |4.03 |- !scope="row"|{{sortname|Dale|Murray}} |{{frac|3|1|3}} |2 |1 |1 |0 |2 |0 |4.58 |- !scope="row"|{{sortname|Goose|Gossage}} (BS, 7) (L, 7–4) |0 |1 |1 |1 |0 |0 |1 |2.23 |- !scope="row"|{{sortname|George|Frazier|dab=pitcher}} |{{frac|0|1|3}} |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |3.52 |- !scope="row"|'''Team totals''' |9 |13 |5 |5 |2 |5 |1 |5.00 |} {{col-end}}

Goose Gossage faced one batter in the top of the 9th inning.

==In popular culture== In 1983, folk and "hillbilly" artist Red River Dave McEnery released "The Pine-Tarred Bat (The Ballad of George Brett)" on Longhorn Records.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Pine-Tarred Bat (The Ballad of George Brett) |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgkXHK9li3c&lc |access-date=April 13, 2020 |website=YouTube| date=12 April 2020 }}</ref>

Country music artist C. W. McCall dedicated the 1985 song "Pine Tar Wars" to the event, composing a lyric that features an accurate{{citation needed|date=April 2019}} telling of the relevant facts of the story. The lyric is strongly critical of Billy Martin, referring to him as "Tar Baby Billy".<ref>{{cite web |title=Pine Tar Wars |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uM00XqR1ys0 |access-date=July 10, 2013 |website=YouTube| date=6 May 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Pine Tar Wars |url=http://www.cw-mccall.com/works/passing_lane/pine_tar_wars.html |website=C.W. McCall}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=C. W. McCall - Pine Tar Wars |url=https://www.45cat.com/record/0018391 |website=45cat}}</ref>

==See also== * {{section link |Pine tar |Baseball}} * List of nicknamed MLB games and plays * Louisville Slugger – the bat brand used in the incident {{Portal bar|Baseball|1980s}}

==References== {{Reflist|2}}

==Further reading== * {{Cite news |first=Daniel |last=Barbarisi |date=July 8, 2013 |title=Pine Tar: The Untold Story |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324867904578594154270594078 |work=The Wall Street Journal |access-date=October 6, 2015}} "The bat boy tells his version of the pine-tar tale involving George Brett and the Yankees." {{subscription required}} * {{Cite episode |title=The Bat Boy And The Pine Tar Game |url=https://snapjudgment.org/story/snap-625-the-bat-boy-and-the-pine-tar-game/ |date=November 25, 2016 |series=Snap Judgment |series-link=Snap Judgment (radio show) |network=Public Radio Exchange and NPR |number=625 |access-date=October 6, 2015}} The radio version of the story, featuring an interview with the batboy, Merritt Riley. *{{cite book |last=Bondy |first=Filip |title=The Pine Tar Game: The Kansas City Royals, the New York Yankees, and Baseball's Most Absurd and Entertaining Controversy |publisher=Scribner |date=2015 |isbn=978-1476777177 }} *{{cite magazine |last=Carbone |first=Nick |title=The Most Controversial Game Endings in Sports: The Pine Tar Incident |magazine=Time |date=September 25, 2012 |url=https://newsfeed.time.com/2012/09/25/the-most-controversial-game-endings-in-sports/slide/the-pine-tar-incident-1983/}}

==External links== * [http://www.baseball-almanac.com/boxscore/07241983.shtml Box score of the Pine Tar Game] at Baseball Almanac * [http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1983/B07240NYA1983.htm Box score of the Pine Tar Game] at Retrosheet * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbEHAsZxRYo George Brett and the pine tar incident – Video] via YouTube * [http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=3977861&topic_id=7759164&c_id=mlb&tcid=vpp_copy_3977861&v=3 Baseball's Best: The Pine Tar Game – Video] at MLB.com {{Dead link|date=February 2025}}

Category:1983 in sports in New York City Category:1983 Major League Baseball season Category:July 1983 sports events in the United States Category:Kansas City Royals Category:Major League Baseball controversies Category:Major League Baseball games Category:New York Yankees Category:Nicknamed sporting events Category:Events at Yankee Stadium