Ask Mike: Why do baseball players spit?
Hey Guys,
Watch baseball with someone new to the sport and you’re bound to hear one thing over and over: “Why do the players spit so much? What in the world is wrong with these slobs?” It is a fascinating, albeit gross, question to ponder. Why do baseball players expectorate more than other pro athletes?
Not being a professional baseball player, I can’t offer much in the way of an authoritative answer. However, I can tell you that fewer and fewer players are spitting tobacco juice. While the practice has yet to be banned in the big leagues, use is down among Major League players. That decline may be due in part to the ban at the minor league level.
So, if it’s not tobacco juice, then what in the world is responsible for all the free-flying saliva? Sunflower seeds? Bubblegum juice? How about both? According to a blog from Cleveland.com, when big league baseball stopped providing players with tobacco, the teams started providing players with sunflower seeds and chewing gum. The blog explains that in a single season, the Cleveland Indians “will go through 12 cases of sunflower seeds and 10 cases of Bazooka bubble gum (regular and sugarless).”
OK, but why do they have to spit? One blogger thinks it might be a holdover from times past. Players don’t really “need” to spit anymore, but they do anyway, because it’s just part of the culture. Another theory — the players are bored, so they spit like there’s no tomorrow. Perhaps we’ll never know, just like we’ll never know why players “adjust” themselves so often.
What are your theories as to why baseball players spit so much? Boredom? Tradition? Something else? Save your saliva and please leave a comment below.
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uhh beacuse while i play baseball , i tend to get alot of Saliva in my mouth, so thats for every baseabll player, The Couch tells you dont swallow the spit
Because you usually spit out the empty shells when you eat sunflower seeds.
I also think that they may get dirt in their mouths. I have two horses and while working with them in the dirt arena, I often have to spit, because I get dust from the dirt in my mouth. Having gritty dirt in your mouth is not fun!
it gets out the saliva and dirt out of them so they won’t sneeze or get annoyed
Actually, they probably spit because if you work hard (at least for me), you’re mouth dries up, and it’s hard to swallow you’re spit, and easier if you just spit it out.
that is the number 1 question for me i love baseball but when they get to spitting an old coaches get to chewing an blowing bubbles with gum i turn the tv.
to releaf all the sweat because the play most of the time there hot so thats there thing
Because they hate basketball, they wish they could play football (soccer)
They normally spit becuase a lot of baseball players chew tobacco
First of all, they spit the sunflower shells when they’re done chewing. Second of all, dirt doesn’t taste good so I’d rather spit it out than swallow it. Thirdly, males like to spit, if you’ve seen my campus, you’d understand what I mean.
i played baseball and chewing tobacco has always been around on the field and i chew now it has an effect it sort of opens your eyes in a way you see and hit the ball better im not sure what it is about it it just has that effect
well when you play in heat, you have more saliva than usual, and it helps you keep your focus on the game, or so I have been told
Seriously, if you attempt to answer a question, please know what you are talking about or research it. A baseball infield is mostly fine dirt, which gets in everyone’s mouth. Players spit because of seeds and because they like too, but mostly because our mouths are constantly full of the dirt that is flying around everywhere.
because most baseball players chew tobbacco so
they have to!!!
There are four reasons:
1.) The high intensity of a baseball game often causes players to clamp their jaw. Clamping the jaw triggers excess saliva (as does being nervous), thus they spit.
2.) Many baseball players eat sunflower seeds because sunflower seeds are a source of protein; but you have to spit out the shells.
3.) Many baseball players also chew tobacco. Which means they have to spit tobacco out.
4.) Another possibility is that with all of the dust flying about it is easy for it to get in their mouths. Nobody likes a dirty mouth and instead of chewing Orbit gum, they spit. Not quite as affective, but it does the job pretty well on such short notice.
It’s from chewing tobacco and sunflower seed shells, plain and simple. I’ve been playing baseball for over 15 years and I’ve never had to spit because of dirt in my mouth (except for the one time I botched a head-first slide and got a mouthful of dirt).
How is this even a serious question.
#1 Reason..When you work hard you generate a lot of saliva and it’s easier to spit it out
#2 Reason..Sunflower seeds
#3 Reason..Dirt gets in ya mouth sometimes
#4 Reason pitches lick their fingers and spit out the dirt
#5 Reason In Cuba we spit our hands and mix it with dirt to make it drier and have a better grip on the bat
#6 Reason Force of Habit
because of the tobacco they chew
They spit so much because they perspire allot. Perspiration is cognizant to saliva or tears or nasal secretion as they when stimulated discharges beyond ones control.
What do you do when you’re making a point about someone or something being garbage.
Baseball players are just subconsciously sharing this fact about the sport.
It’s a little tough to spit wearing a football helmet
Okay it’s as simple as when we do sport we use up a lot of our water supplies from our bodies. As this happens, our saliva changes and the best way to sort this out is spit. Football players do it too. I do it when I’m playing football because if I don’t it affects my breathing which isn’t good as I have asthma. I wash my mouth with water and spit the water out before actually drinking any water. It may seem gross but it’s better than your mouth feeling gross.
Just thank God they’re not picking their noses. Who cares about the spitting.
Baseball players spit for several reasons,
1) dirt/dust get in their mouths.
2) their mouth gets dry and the spit because thick and hard to swallow
3) it because a force of habit and players start doing it unconsciously
going to the players readjusting themselves so much, you try wearing a cup for 9 innings, after awhile it gets uncomfortable or falls out of a comfortable place and needs to be fixed
i play baseball at a high level and none of us care about the ban. we all dip and spit tobacco juice.
its really more common than you think
It’s because they’re NASTY!
I played baseball when I was in my secondary as well as in college baseball. I guess that it was just part of the art of baseball spitting on the field, that also looks that you are tough enough. I usually chew gum other than tobacco juice as what they have mentioned.
As a baseballplayer its not to look cool or anything lol. Im in highschool but for me its mainly because i get alot of saliva build up in my month. For others its dip
I play baseball for many teams and really the reason is 3 things: dipping (tobacco), sunflower seeds, or just the plain idea to do so. Baseball where I come from is a game made for tools. Spitting just came up from many players (mainly tools) and made them look coll, so many others just try it and think they’re awesome!
Better than farting in the catchers face.
wow, they don’t spit they eat seeds that is why they spit cause they spit out the seeds
Wel, I know I do it for multiple reasons. 1. To get the dirt out of your mouth. 2. Personally, Bubblegum adds a lot of juices and saliva to my mouth so I spit. 3. Boredom
4. Sunflower seeds.
who cares let them spit scratch thier balls anything they wont to do
Sometimes it is saliva or either tobacco
They usually spit because they are either eating sunflower seeds or chewing on some tobacco.
who put that people who are nasty its what they do they like it so leave them allowen
all boys spit
they are really cool when they spit.i think they do it just to be cool
Because spitting and farting makes men feel big and strong like bull…. armpit music is good… pocket pool..exc Simply stated, it’s a game to injoy, and men find joy in being themselves, and their ability to concentrate is affected by all these petty regulations. I say let them spit, dance or whatever. I’ll never forget the day FB players got chewed on for their little ditty’s in the end zone! These were the highlights of the game, don’t you think ?
Footballers are spitting less because of viewers objections,(The gobbing of snot and phlegm,puts them off their meals) altough it may be good for the grass,but,like the disposal of condoms it spreads diseases.
When right handers come to bat they spit down the third base line. Can you just see somebody sliding into home plate in the ninth inning. Yuk.
P.S. Head first ? Double yuk !!
they spit out tabbaco
I played baseball, and now I play softball. The answer is two fold. It is a cultural thing. As kids, we see the players do it, so we are programmed to also do it.
It is also a way to release tension.
The truth, about 80% of baseball players dip while they play, or chew tobacco for the ones who didnt know what i was talking about.. and when you dip you have to spit, and when i played it was just habit for me.
It’s an outdoor sport and there is nothing covering the players heads. Most fields are grass and fresh cut grass can cause allergies along with warm weather thus causing more saliva and more of an opportunity to spit. Sure, tobacco, seeds and gum are to blame as well, but I spit a lot when I cut the grass. I guess it’s the same for the players.
sometimes,,CHEWiNG TOBACCO
its usauly becuase there using Chewing tabacco…while chewing the tabacco they have to spit out there saliva,bacause if they swallow the spit it can make them very sick
I play softball, basketball, and run cross country. Sometimes, when athletes are playing really hard and trying their best, you get really out of breath and it becomes hard to swallow. This happens to me a lot in cross country and sometimes I have to spit, even though I try to avoid it.
because baseball players like to chew tobacco while they play with their balls.
They eat sunflower seeds and chew tobacco. They have to spit out the seeds and spit the juice/saliva out.
you guys are not very intelegen i see, baceball players spit because the majority of them do dip. and snoose, aka cheewing tabacco. because smoking affects the way they preform on the field,
The players have to “drink” alot of water to stay hydrated. They use water to wash there moulths out beacuse is they swollow there stoumics will get up ste from running or whatever, my dad plays!
uhhh im pretty sure its cuz sum players chew and some have seeds
when they spit in the dirt it makes the dirt not a slippery when they run so thats why the baseball players spit in the dirt
To let out the saliva from there mouth cause there mouth gets dry. IDK to make themselves look cool
I believe it’s a cultural thing held over from when many chewed tobacco. As a kid you watch famous players spitting so you copy them.
cuz they are gross!!
they are nasty!!!!
Well I play softball (a similar sport) and my friends and I spit to. Makes a difference? No. But we spit and I bet baseball players spit because it sorta makes us seem sporty, and “ready”?
because they want to!!
It’s just a bad habit they got from the older players that were their heroes. I wonder if the catcher finds it kinda muddy around home plate.
I don’t know, but I feel sorry for those who have to clean all that up. YUCK!
I think they thought spitting in the baseball game verbally says to opponents “Your like my spit” haha just my opinion. LOL
(sorry for my bad english)
They are upbeat. They stuff things in their pants to make a cushion. I am just guessing!
In the MLB they usually chew tobacco and spit it out
Spitting is one of the activities that humans still practice from the pre-human days when they had not yet evolved as humans. Monkeys spit. It’s a male sign of competitive spirit. It’s a way of intimidating the other monkeys, like pounding your fist or waving your fist in the face of the opponent. In the monkey world, it’s to compete for females. In baseball, it’s a subconscious urge to frighten the opponent into submission. Unfortunately, though, female humans are not impressed by it. It’s a sign that humans are not all that different from apes, which is actually downright unappealing.
Many options, really. Like you said, it could be spitting out sunflower seed shells. Or it could be the gritty dirt. Or dehydration. Or boredom. All are possible.
Spit or dip is very common in the mid west and the mid-west breeds lots of baseball players so it’s natural to be popular.
Because they want to water the grass!
Because, as all of the people b4 me have stated, Mostly they spit as they are chewing tobacco!
They spit because they use chewing tabacco while they play.
hey pplz!
they spit to be cool and show off
not cool more like disgusting
most baseball players chew tobacco and they have to spit it out becuz it can be very dangerous to swallow it. also some eat sunflower seeds.
the can of bug juice is really made out of the seed of a seed extract, and its processed with low-fructose wasp syrup manufactured by interwasp incorpurated.
Because they chew tobacco right? Some of them?
because they probably have sunflower seeds in there mouth. i play softball and we spit alot.
Some baseball players may spit because it is part of a superstitious routine; a “lucky charm” which they refuse to violate, and which, if they do, is self-fulfilling.
cause they gain to have a lot of spit while they play so they spit it out..:)
they eat sunflower seed all the time; so the most common reason to why they spit so much is their excessive eating of sunflower seeds. when they spit, they normally spit out sunflower seed shells. or thats what I’ve always herd since i was little.
Because must of them chew tabacco.
chewing tabaco. lol
Probably because saliva or phlegm in the throat due to cold weather or allergies. Minor players also spit a lot, so it’s probably not due to tobacco or because they dip. Although, it is known that baseball players tend to dip. It may also be due to habit, and people just getting use to it, and watching other people do it.
No question about it, in my mind. Peer pressure. It’s why guys do so many things in life–because other guys do them. We want to be part of the gang.
You’ll notice that there are those players who don’t spit. I think you would find that these players don’t play copy-cat in other areas of life, either.
I’ll bet the other guys don’t like them.
its because lots of baseball ball players chew tabacco
Why does anyone spit? Some people do not swallow their saliva and so they will spit. I have now gotten into habit whereas before I would never spit. It can be quite disgusting from others who prefer not to engage in this activity or otherwise are turned away by what might come out of people’s mouth. The latter which is me. It isn’t just ballplayers that do this. Even bugs or dirt in the mouth can be the reason.
Most baseball players either 1) chew tobacco 2) dip snuff or 3) eat sunflower seeds and unfortunately they all require spitting.
I guess they are spitting out their chewing tobbacco…why would u swallow tobbacco lmao.
Baseball players spit for the same reason hockey players fight…it’s part of the game.
I need to spit right now and im on the computer. Its a natural human thing in some males. Sometimes I spit to clear drainage from my sinuses.
I leanrd this in middle school many years ago. Reason why they spit is ebcause way back then when Baseball started in America they used to chew on Tobacco, a lot, usually during the winter. What tobacco does is when you chew on it chemicles relese. it helps keep your body warm. The taste wasn’t so much too good especially after a wile of chewing it so naturally what they did was spit it out.
Though not many football players chew tobacco anymore (if any) due to mouth cancer they still accustomed the habit of spitting to the game. This si the reasonw hy baseball players spit.
Learned behavior, habit! They’re like little kids, when you hang around the spitting crowd, you spit too! Kinda funny in a way, just so long as they don’t do in the house!
its 100% because of the chewing tobacco usage.
Baseball, hockey, football and soccer. In full public view,
they spit like ten-year-old bullies trying to show contempt
on their victims.
But why do athletes really spit on their working surfaces?
Chewing tobacco, habit, or something more sinister?
Dr. Dennis McCloud, a drug addiction specialist, claims that
athletes spit so much because of the over-consumption of
steroids.
I heard once that it meant the player was not afraid or nervous if he had enough saliva to spit. If his mouth is too dry to spit, it means he is scared or nervous. But it is gross to see white,yucky gobs spewing from someone’s mouth. It makes him look dumb and ugly.
I’m an aussie and I’ve been watching a bit of the NLCS(?) recently, and i reckon the ONLY player doing enough to break a sweat is the pitccher. We play proper, tough sports over here and yet don’t feel compelled to spit everywhere. I understand that if players are ‘dipping’ or chewing sunflower seeds, they may need to spit, but use a bloody bucket! Would you spit chewed food all over the floor in a restaurant, or in your own home? Like someone else said on here, it IS a spreader of diease (and it’s just downright disgusting). For me, it typifies the american stereotype; lazy, no talent slobs. Send all your hate mail to your mum, i visit her all the time.
cheers from the best place on earth, australia.
at least, I do not believe they are scratching their —-
as much as they use to.
I have never understood why spit is a part of baseball.
baseball players do it because they can its like second nature to us. its not to look cool. its becuase of dip, gum, or whatever even when you dont have it in you feel like u need to spit. hard to understand if you dont actually play.
They think it looks masculine and will intimidate people.
They spit to express themselves about the poor spelling and grammar that people use when commenting about why baseball players spit so much.
Most ball players chew or dip so its a force of habit
Because they want to be basketball players and spit on the gym floor next
they usually spit because they drink Gatorade and gatorade has sugar in it, so they spit the flem out so it wont bother them
There is no logical or intellectual reason for the disgusting habit of spitting. They all have an over-inflated opinion of themselves and their athletic abilities. They need to concentrate more on earning their also over-inflated salaries and less on watering the dirt and grass with their spittle.
Thanks for explanation. Wife wondered about
Bballers expectorating so much. Adjustments, too.
mindless imitation. failed attempt to look tough and cool too spineless and undisciplined to think for themselves.
As a baseball player all of my life, I can tell you that spitting is as a part of the game as throwing or swinging, In my case, I picked up chewing tobacco, so through the course of a game you spit frequently. I’ve been doing this for years, so spitting is more a habitual thing for me now, I spit even when I don’t have a dip in my mouth. I’ve also noticed those who don’t chew tobacco tend to spit frequently to, from being around those who do.