Can this be true?

[Dakota]

Originally Posted by Dholloway1962

Maybe I misunderstood what you are trying to say but, 6-6-A says A defensive player shall not at any time during the game be allowed to use an foreign substance on the ball. It does say "a foreign substance".

Were you saying dirt/sand is not a foreign substance?

No, I was saying the the rule about it being an IP for failure to wipe off pertains to licking the fingers. Otherwise, the rule is to not apply the foreign substance to the ball. If a pitcher picks up a handful of dirt, tosses it aside, and does not wipe the hand before touching the ball, you have to decide whether that is a violation. Whereas, if a pitcher licks the fingers, does not wipe them off, and them goes to the ball, there is a direct rule that declares that an IP. It is a stupid rule (IMO), but there it is.