Brett had injuries on-and-off for the next four years, during which his most noteworthy achievement was the notorious "
Pine Tar Incident." On
July 24,
1983, the Royals were playing the Yankees at Yankee Stadium. In the top of the ninth inning, Brett came up to bat against Goose Gossage, his old rival. Brett hit a two-run homer, putting the Royals up 5-4. After Brett rounded the bases, Yankees manager
Billy Martin (at the suggestion of his third baseman
Graig Nettles) came out of the
dugout and used home plate to measure the amount of pine tar on Brett's bat, citing an obscure rule that stated the pine tar on a bat could extend no further than 18 inches. Brett's pine tar extended about 24 inches.
"I've never seen this," said sportscaster and ex-Yankee
Bobby Murcer on
WPIX as he watched McClelland measure the bat across the plate. "I never have either," said Murcer's partner, Frank Messer. A few moments later, the home plate umpire,
Tim McClelland, signalled Brett out.
The normally mild-mannered Brett charged out of the dugout, enraged, and was immediately ejected. An incredulous Messer:
Look at this!...He is out, and having to be forcibly restrained from hitting plate umpire Tim McClelland. And the Yankees have won the ball game 4 to 3!
The Royals
protested the game, and their protest was upheld by AL president (and former Yankees chief executive)
Lee McPhail, who ruled that the bat was not "altered to improve the distance factor", and that the rules only provided for removal of the bat from the game, and not calling the batter out. The game was replayed, starting after Brett's homer. Billy Martin had one last trick up his sleeve, appealing the play before, saying the umpires had no way of knowing Brett had touched all the bases. The umpires produced affidavits saying he had. The game had virtually no effect on 1983's pennant race, but was in many ways the closing chapter on a heated rivalry.
