Yankees pitcher Michael Pineda’s ejection Wednesday night at Fenway Park was relatively tame by baseball’s lofty standard for fits and gamesmanship. The umpire came out to the mound, inspected Pineda, wiped the pine tar off his neck and modestly ejected the right-hander from the game. Some muss, no fuss.
It was no match for these hysterical incidents from baseball history of rules-benders getting caught red-handed.
George Brett’s pine tar bat
The greatest baseball flip-out in video-recorded history. The Royals third baseman is ejected following a go-ahead home run at Yankee Stadium when umpires — acting on a tip from Billy Martin — discover an excess of grip-aiding pine tar on the handle of Brett’s bat, in violation of the rules. Brett absolutely loses his mind, storming onto the field and thrashing around. The decision is later overturned by the league office and the game resumed for the Yankees’ turn at bat.
Joe Niekro’s emery board
Most notable for the pure comedy of Niekro’s attempt to toss aside the ball-scuffing device hidden in his back pocket when confronted by umpires. Niekro, still pitching at 42 years old during the 1987 season, was suspended for 10 games.
Albert Belle’s corked bat
Cleveland Indians slugger Albert Belle was busted for a corked bat after Chicago White Sox manager Gene Lamont tipped off umpires. The umps confiscated the bat and brought it back to their dressing room for safe-keeping. That’s when it got interesting. Indians reliever Jason Grimsley crawled through the ceiling — “Mission: Impossible” style — into the umps’ room and switched Belle’s bat out for a dummy bat that was legal. The ruse was eventually discovered, and Belle was suspended for seven games.
Graig Nettles’ rubber balls
One at-bat after hitting a home run during a 1974 game against the Detroit Tigers, the Yankees’ Graig Nettles broke his bat … and six little superballs came bouncing out. Nettles claimed ignorance after being ruled out on the play, saying he obtained the bat from a fan and didn’t know there was anything wrong with it.
The Stolen Sign Heard ‘Round the World?
The most influential of the bunch — and the most disputed. When Bobby Thomson hit the playoff-winning home run in 1951 at the Polo Grounds that set off the legendary call of “The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant!”, the home team was employing an elaborate system to steal pitch signs from the opposing Brooklyn Dodgers’ catcher, according to a convincing Wall Street Journal report. A telescope-toting spy in the bleachers relayed the sign via electrical wire to the bullpen where it was conveyed to the batter. It is agreed that not all Giants hitters participated in the scheme, and Thomson went to his grave without confirming he knew he would see a fastball on his historic clout.