pine-tar rag
Noun 1. A piece of baseball equipment: A rag that has been soaked in or treated with pine tar, a sticky substance. Its primary function in baseball is to be applied to the handle of a baseball bat to improve a batter's grip.
The pine-tar rag is used specifically in the sport of baseball. Batters or bat handlers use it to transfer pine tar from the rag onto the lower portion of a bat's handle. This creates a tacky surface that prevents the bat from slipping out of the batter's hands during a swing.
- The batter asked the batboy for the pine-tar rag before stepping into the on-deck circle.
- Umpires will check a bat if they suspect too much pine-tar rag residue has been applied, as there are league rules governing its use.
- He kept a pine-tar rag in his back pocket during the game for quick access.
- Regulatory Context: In professional baseball, the use of a pine-tar rag is governed by official rules. The pine tar application must not extend more than 18 inches from the bottom of the bat's handle. A bat found in violation may be declared illegal, and the batter may be called out.
- Historical Reference: The term gained significant notoriety from the "Pine Tar Incident" in a 1983 MLB game, where a home run was controversially nullified because the pine tar on the batter's bat (applied via a rag) was deemed too high on the bat.
- Pine tar (n): The sticky, dark-brown substance itself, produced by the high-temperature carbonization of pine wood. It is the key component with which the rag is impregnated.
- Batting glove (n): Another piece of equipment batters may use to improve grip, often used in conjunction with or as an alternative to pine tar.
- Grip rag (This is a descriptive synonym specific to the sport's jargon, though "pine-tar rag" is the standard term.)
- Tack rag (A more general term in woodworking and painting for a sticky cloth used to remove dust; context distinguishes it from the baseball-specific "pine-tar rag.")
While "pine-tar rag" itself is not typically part of an idiom, it is central to the famous baseball phrase: - "The Pine Tar Game" or "The Pine Tar Incident": Refers directly to the controversial 1983 game where the use of the pine-tar rag was at the center of a historic rules dispute and subsequent protest.
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baseball equipment consisting of a rag soaked with pine tar; used on the handle of a baseball bat to give a batter a firm grip
