Foreign substance IP repeated...

[bkbjones]

And...

The spirit of the rule is not about a "spit" ball. I can explain the physics if you want, but basic saliva won't help things much. In fact, plain old saliva can impair a pitcher's ability to properly deliver a pitch.

Besides, you can do much, much more with a ball that has even a small nick in it than you can a "spit" ball. Still, I have and will ring them up for an illegal pitch.

The spirit of the rule is about items such as pine tar that can and does improve the pitcher's grip/control of the ball. If they have a nice little "Slippery Elm" lozenge, that is a big no-no too.