“NO PEPPER!”

Anyone who has ever encountered a pesty server who is so proud of the pepper mill entrusted to them will know that there is a such thing as “too much” pepper. Saturday Night Live’s “Pepper Boy” skit with Adam Sandler exemplifies this but that doesn’t involve baseball so I will move on…

Growing up watching baseball, I always noticed, at every stadium, the signs forbidding Pepper Games at MLB ballparks. I loved playing pepper in little league. I wasn’t fast but being a catcher, I was quick with my hands and was above average at it to be modest.

I always wondered why they wouldn’t allow such a fun game to be played?

I believe I’ve found an answer in a book that I’ve slowly been reading over the past few months. It’s called “We Played the Game” by Danny Peary, published by Tess Press. The book takes recollections of players throughout the years 1946 to the 1960’s and although it is a slow read it has some great stories in it.

One of those stories I will share with you is from former Philadelphia Phillie Andy Seminick.

Andy Seminick was the Phillies catcher from 1943-1951 then again from 1955-1957. He ended his career in Philadelphia and became a roving minor league instructor in the organization. He coached Mike Schmidt, Fergusun Jenkins, Greg Luzinski and was instrumental in converting Bob Boone from a 3rd baseman into a catcher.

In this story, Seminick is describing Richie Ashburn.

“In Shibe Park, our pitcher would warm up in front of the dugout, and Richie would always walk up and eyeball him. He’d step in and try to hit the ball back lightly back to the pitcher. But he’d often overswing and miss the ball or have it just graze the bat. I’d get mad because I wasn’t wearing my mask. (One day – I’m not sure in what year – our coach Benny Bengough was warming up a pitcher and Ashburn swung too hard and hit the ball right into the stands and knocked a guy’s eye out. The guy sued and collected, probably from the ballclub)” – From “We Played the Game” – Page 68

The Wikipedia entry for “Pepper(Baseball)” states the following:

“Pepper is a common pre-game exercise in baseball, where one player hits brisk ground balls and line drives to a group of fielders who are standing close by. The fielders try to make a play on the ball, and throw it back as quickly as possible. The batter then attempts to hit the return throw, and so on.

Some ballparks have banned pepper games because of the danger of balls landing in the stands and injuring spectators, leading them to display “NO PEPPER” warnings behind or near home plate. Major League Baseball has also discouraged pepper because it damages the infield grass.”

That story about Richie Ashburn is not the only instance of him unintentionally injuring a fan..

“During an August 17, 1957 game, Ashburn hit a foul ball into the stands that struck spectator Alice Roth, wife of Philadelphia Bulletin sports editor Earl Roth, breaking her nose. When play resumed, Ashburn fouled off another ball that struck Roth while she was being carried off in a stretcher. Ashburn and Roth would maintain a friendship for many years and her son later served as a Phillies batboy.” Wikipedia

So I suppose a Phillie had a hand in ending Pepper fun in ballparks across the USA. I wonder if kids even still play this? I can only hope.