Ball Four, in the dirt

[Kevin Finnerty]

My son's a pitcher. Now that he's in college, the scuffs, cuts and mud packed in a seam all work much better with the higher speeds and better arm action of an older player.

He lives on the sinker, cutter and change-up (a splitter). When a guy chops a ball in front of the plate, and my son gets to keep using the same ball, I watch him check it, and if he notices that there's mud or dirt packed in the seam, he throws nothing but two-seamers, and they drop like stones. If there's a tear on a ball, if he wants it to break left, he positions the tear on the right, and vice-versa.

He never tears, scuffs or packs a ball, but if the umpire fails to check it or discard it, he just uses it. (I've almost never seen him ask for a different ball.) I learned that where-to-hold-the-tear-or-scuff thing from Don McMahon, an ex-MLB fireballing reliever, who used to coach for the Dodgers.