On the subject of deflategate, one friend generally brings up that he views it like the Pine Tar Incident (1983 in baseball) — not that big of a deal, since both were a type of alteration of equipment which really had little affect helping a team win. When he brings up this comparison I immediately jump in and say that the difference is that there is plenty of reason to believe that the Patriots did not do anything, and I don’t want to concede that point. However we do agree that it was minor if true.
The other day I reviewed the Pine Tar Incident, and there are a remarkable number of parallels, and more than that where the parallels break down is highly instructive. I realize now, in retrospect, that one of the reasons the details of Pine Tar have not been not clear in my head is that it occurred in July and August of 1983, which is when my then wife and I were extremely busy with getting ready to move from Milwaukee to the Bay Area, and there was a lot on my mind.
To review: Billy Martin, manager of the New York Yankees, had been informed that the bat used by George Brett of the Kansas City Royals was coated with pine tar extending an inch or two beyond the regulation 18 inches. This tar is used to assist the batter’s grip and is applied over the bat handle. Although Martin knew about this equipment violation, he kept his knowledge in reserve. On July 24 in a game at Yankee Stadium, Brett hit a two-run home run to put the Royals ahead 5-4 in the ninth inning. Martin went to rookie umpire Tim McClelland and pointed out the illegal tar on the bat, and McClelland called Brett out as the rules required. Since Brett’s out made the third out in the ninth, the game was over and the Yankees won 4-3. Brett and a couple of Royals players had a conniption and needed to be restrained.
The Royals protested and American League President Lee MacPhail presided over the appeal. What MacPhail decided was that, while the bat was out of specification, the reason for the rule had nothing to do with giving the player an advantage but had to do with the fact that too much tar hitting batted balls would discolor them and they would have to be put out of play. It was a rule based on economics, not fair play. In a common sense ruling he said that since the ball went over the fence, even if it were discolored it cost the league nothing, and therefore he allowed the home run and ordered the game resumed from that point. The resumption happened August 18, and the final score ended up 5-4 in favor of the Royals. Brett was not allowed to play because he was ruled “ejected” due to his outburst.
In deflategate, the Billy Martin’s “punk” role was played by the Colts. Where the parallel breaks down, however, is that there is no penalty for violating this rule enforceable during a football game. In order for the events to be parallel, there should be (for example) a fifteen yard penalty, immediately enforceable. Instead it was just a way for the Colts to try to diminish the Patriots’ victory. They got beat handily 45-7, and no one with a sane mind thinks deflated balls had anything to do with it, and something tells me different versions of karma may be visiting Lucas Oil Stadium this fall.
In terms of precedent for how the NFL has handled ball inflation/alteration, two other events in the 2014 season are illuminating. In a Vikings-Panthers game in November, both teams were caught heating the balls on the sidelines, and were merely told to stop, with no penalty or further action whatsoever. In the Patriots-Jets game of October 16 (a Thursday night game), the officials inflated the Patriots balls to 16 PSI, to the point that Brady vehemently complained to John Jastremski the equipment person in charge of preparing game balls. Most of the focus on the latter incident (which is in the Wells report) is on how Brady’s response supposedly tied him to Jim McNally, a part time locker room employee who the league implies was “the deflator” in charge of personally altering game balls to Brady’s standards. What I wonder though is how did this gross incompetence on the part of the league arise in that game? The officials overinflated game balls by an amount that actually did affect the quality of play?!? It implies to me that the league had no control or knowledge of ball inflation, one way or the other, and has a lot of nerve overamplifying the issue in deflategate.
MacPhail’s counterpart as judge in Pine Tar is NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. When MacPhail made his ruling no appeal was possible, although the Yankees didn’t like it and Martin treated the game’s resumption disruptively. However if there was to have been an appeal in Pine Tar one would think commissioner Bowie Kuhn have been the judge. What has been rightfully criticized in the deflategate case is that Goodell assigned himself as the appeals judge to his first ruling.
MacPhail ruled quickly and decisively (24 days between the incident and final resolution), while Goodell and the NFL office let things drag for months, spending millions on the investigation. As of today, by the way, there is a growing chorus of criticism over what that investigation consisted of. Steve DelVecchio on Larry Brown Sports points out that Goodell “blatantly lied” in the press release for Brady’s appeal denial, based on the now public transcipts of the appeal testimony. Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports said that Goodell et al “worked backward with great diligence and, at times, great duplicity” to convict Brady based on pre-determined guilt. Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post said, after seeing the transcripts of the appeal, “Last week, I relied on the word of Roger Goodell. I won’t make that mistake again.” Goodell’s investigation was anything but a fair and objective search for truth.
Most importantly MacPhail ruled with common sense. Strictly speaking Brett’s bat did violate a rule, but did it really matter? That’s what my friend says is the comparison. I myself will never concede the impugning Tom Brady’s reputation — I don’t have some fondness for the guy, it is just general fairness that I think needs to be upheld. Even if somehow a face saving deal comes along where Brady pays a small fine and the world moves on, I will never accept his guilt about anything without some miracle direct evidence in the matter. Yet in the early days, it would have made infinite sense to any bib-overalled farmer to just issue a token fine and forget about the whole thing after that. For one thing people remember this controversy much more easily than what was a pretty exciting Superbowl game. Is that really good for the league in the long run? Even if somehow this is a “no such thing as bad publicity” campaign by Goodell, it is a ludicrous misstep. I don’t know if Goodell and the owners realize it, but on top of everything else floating around modern pro sports the entire cultural phenomenon is on the verge of imploding. Maybe they don’t care, and if that’s the case I won’t either and I’ll just focus my attention on high school sports, which can be a lot more exciting anyway.