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The Pine Tar Incident (also known as the Pine Tar Game) was a controversial incident during an American League game played between the Kansas City Royals and New York Yankees on July 24, 1983 at Yankee Stadium in New York City. With his team trailing 4–3 in the top half of the ninth inning, with two outs, George Brett of the Royals hit a two-run home run to give his team the lead. However, Yankees manager Billy Martin, who had noticed a large amount of pine tar on Brett's bat, requested that the umpires inspect his bat. The umpires ruled that the amount of pine tar on the bat exceeded the amount allowed by rule, nullified Brett's home run, and called him out. As Brett was the third out in the ninth inning with the home team in the lead, the game ended with a Yankees win.〔http://local.sandiego.com/sports/padres-manager-bud-black-relives-george-bretts-pine-tar-incident 〕 The Royals protested the game, and American League president Lee MacPhail upheld their protest and ordered that the game be restarted from the point of Brett's home run. The game was restarted on August 18 and officially ended with the Royals winning 5–4.〔 ==The incident== Playing at New York's Yankee Stadium, the Royals were trailing 4–3 with two outs in the top of the ninth and U L Washington on first base. George Brett came to the plate and connected off Yankee reliever Rich "Goose" Gossage for a two-run home run and a 5–4 lead.〔 As Brett crossed the plate, New York manager Billy Martin approached rookie home plate umpire Tim McClelland and requested Brett's bat be examined. Earlier in the season, Martin and other members of the Yankees had noticed the amount of pine tar used by Brett, but Martin had chosen not to say anything until it was strategically useful to do so.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Pine tar nullifies home run, so Brett goes ballistic )〕 Yankees third baseman Graig Nettles recalled a similar incident involving Thurman Munson in a game against the Minnesota Twins.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Retrosheet Boxscore: Minnesota Twins 2, New York Yankees 1 )〕 According to Nettles' autobiography, ''Balls'', Nettles claims that he actually informed Martin of the pine tar rule, as Nettles had previously undergone the same scrutiny with his own bat while with the Twins. With Brett watching from the dugout, McClelland and the rest of the umpiring crew inspected the bat. Measuring the bat against the width of home plate (which is 17 inches wide), they determined that the amount of pine tar on the bat's handle exceeded that allowed by Rule 1.10(c) of the Major League Baseball rule book, which read that "a bat may not be covered by such a substance more than 18 inches from the tip of the handle". They ultimately determined that since Brett's bat did not conform to the rules, he was out for hitting an illegally batted ball. McClelland searched for Brett in the visitors' dugout, pointed at him, and signaled that he was out, nullifying his home run and the game over. An enraged Brett stormed out of the dugout to confront McClelland, and had to be physically restrained by Kansas City manager Dick Howser and his teammates. (As one commentator noted, "Brett had the ignominious distinction of hitting a game-''losing'' home run.")〔)〕 Despite the furious protests of Brett and Howser, McClelland's ruling stood. Due to fear that the bat would be taken to the American League office for inspection, Brett's teammate Gaylord Perry gave Brett's bat to the batboy, Merritt Riley, who was then chased into the clubhouse by security.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Pine Tar Incident」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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