After all that hoo-ha about Brendan Donnelly using pine tar on pitches, here’s the tale of a Korean pitcher, Park Myung-Hwan, who was “caught” with cabbage leaves in his cap:
South Korea’s baseball authorities have banned a star pitcher from wearing frozen cabbage leaves in his cap to keep cool during games.
The Korean Baseball Association met in special session after cabbage leaves twice fell from Park Myung-Hwan’s cap live on television.
After two hours, the committee ruled that cabbage was a “foreign substance” and therefore banned from the field. (Link - thanks Davin!)
Okay, he wasn’t really caught, since clearly cabbage is not really the kind of substance that gives your pitches extra bite. But still, cabbage leaves! Even Gaylord Perry would’ve been impressed.