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If you have ever watched baseball league, you. have noticed that baseball players and their coaches are always spitting. Annoying right? You might have thought that baseball players are dirty. Why should they be spitting that much? I’m sure that a question that you have asked yourself once or twice.
The reason why baseball players spit is many, and it differs from one player to another. While some players spit just to enhance their performance and boost their confidence, some others spit due to dust and dirt that has entered their mouth while they are playing. Another two popular reasons why baseball players spit is to discard the sunflower seeds they are chewing or tobacco.
Below we shall discuss the main reasons why baseball players used to spit, Grab a cup of coffee as we go through the reasons.
Players Spit to enhance their performance and boost their confidence
Surprising right? That some baseball players are spitting just to enhance their performance. Yeah, some baseball players have naturally developed the habit of boosting their performance by spitting on their batting gloves. Some players claim they used to have a more powerful grip on a bat when they spit. Infielders specifically have the habit of spitting on their fielding gloves or their hands to enhance grip.
Players spit due to dirt and dust
Baseball is played in an open field where wind can easily blow dirt and dust into the faces of players. As players dive, jump, and try to catch or throw balls, there’s a great chance of dust and dirt entering their mouths. This makes most players spit constantly to get rid of the dust off their mouth.
However, in major leagues, water is usually sprayed on the fields to moisten the sand. Though, there are many reasons why this is done, one of the main reasons is to prevent dust and dirt from being pulled up by the wind and entering into players mouths. To prevent this, wind blocks can be created in the field as stands, or the field can be created indoors to prevent any exposure to wind and dust.
Some Players Spit out of Habit
Some baseball players have naturally developed the habit of spitting when playing. This is either because they have a former habit of eating sunflower seeds and chewing tobacco when playing baseball, so now that they aren’t chewing they’ll feel like they’re chewing it and then feel like spitting it out. Other players however spit out of nervousness.
Used to Chewing Tobacco
Chewing tobacco is a baseball player’s habit that has a long history. However, Major associations have started understanding the disadvantages of chewing tobacco by baseball players. Recent research has shown that frequent chewing of tobacco by players has exposed them to health problems and it has also passed a bad message to the youngsters watching the game. For tens of years, we have witnessed baseball players spitting tobacco juice from their mouth as they play. In 1990, college baseball banned chewing tobacco. Minor league baseball joined them by banning it in the year 1993.
However, in the year 2016, the major baseball league (MBA) in collaboration with the players union agreed on banning chewing tobacco by players from then on.
By the year 2018, most of the Major League Baseball stadiums banned the use of smokeless tobacco in their stadiums by both players and fans.
As of now, the number of players using chewing tobacco has reduced greatly in MBA, this will continue to reduce year by year till the habit is shed out. However, some players are now developing the habit of chewing gum in place of chewing tobacco.
Chewing of Sunflower Seeds
Another reason why most baseball players spit is due to the chewing of sunflower seeds while playing. Unlike chewing tobacco, sunflower seeds are harmless and come with little or no negative consequences. The seeds usually come in small plastic bags that can be kept by players in their pocket.
Usually, players will throw a handful of the seeds into their mouth as they are playing, and they will be spitting out the shells as they chew the seed. Fans aren’t also left behind as most of them have developed the habit of chewing sunflower seeds while watching their players play.
Being a harmless habit, chewing sunflower seed has an old history in baseball and it isn’t going to vanish anytime soon.
Conclusion
Baseball players are well known for their habit of spitting, however, most people don’t know why they spit. Mostly, these players spit because they are tired, some spit out the dust and dirt that accumulates in their mouths, for some players, spitting while playing is a natural habit that helps them boost their performance. While others are spitting out chewing tobacco or sunflower seeds
For more on baseball, check out our previous articles:
Why do baseball players eat sunflower seed‘
What do baseball players chew‘