Bring back the spitball?

CLEARWATER, FLORIDA - Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick believed baseball had tipped in favor of the hitter so on this date in 1955 he said if he had his way he would bring back the spitter. While visiting the Philadelphia Phillies training camp Frick said, "Something positive should be done to help the pitchers." In advocating the return of the spitball Frick added, "There's nothing dangerous about it. It was nothing like the screwball they have to throw today, with a twisted elbow and tricky snapping of the wrists. No wonder today's pitchers can't go on as long."

But what did the statistics say? Below is a look at total runs scored in the major leagues for 3 seasons in the 1930's, 1940's and 1950's when each league had eight teams.

................runs scored.......avg ERA
1955 NL-5,578 AL-5,490...4.00
1954 NL-5,624 AL-5,203...3.90
1953 NL-5,914 AL-5,512...4.15
1945 NL-5,512 AL-4,774...3.58
1944 NL-5,292 AL-5,058...3.52
1943 NL-4,892 AL-4,795...3.34
1935 NL-5,806 AL-6,220...4.24
1934 NL-5,695 AL-6,304...4.28
1933 NL-4,908 AL-6,081...3.81

Runs and ERA's were up in the 50's compared to the 40's (during World War II), but runs and ERA's were down from the 1930's. It's true, throughout the years pitchers have been steadily pitching fewer innings and throwing fewer pitches, but for a variety of reasons, two of the most prominent being the proliferation of the home run, and the increased strategic prominence of the bullpen. Needless to say, the spitball did not come back - legally.

Contributing sources:
Associated Press, Clearwater, Florida, March 8, 1955
Retrosheet