Our pitcher holds the ball in his glove, pitching arm at his side as he takes the sign. The glove is in front of his face. Although he has done this for 3 yrs, in a recent game he was told by an umpire that he couldn't hold his glove there. When asked why, the umpire responded, "you might be throwing a spit ball." When he said, but the ball is in my glove, the umpire said, "you might be licking the ball. You can't hold it that close to your face."
Am I correct in saying there is no rule for this? And just for the record, the kid is 13 and only throws fastball, sinker, change. Certainly not a spit ball. He receives professional training and isn't even allowed to throw breaking balls yet.
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