Adam Bloom and four friends set out after college in 1996 on a summer-long tour of Major League ballparks that took an unusual turn: they asked players for their gum or to spit into glass baby food jars. The group — Kevin Berson, Pratik “Pate” Patel, Anthony “A.Y.” Young and Charlie Cook — were later joined by Tracy Abbott, a producer from The Tonight Show.
The journeys and the jars are documented in a journal the friends kept along the way. According to ESPN, the story is the subject of an SC Featured segment titled “Spitball,” scheduled to air Sunday morning on ESPN.
At Dodger Stadium, the first player the group asked was Chicago Cubs right fielder Sammy Sosa, who complied. In Atlanta, players were described as friendly and several handed over their gum; Braves outfielder David Justice spat into a jar and joked with the group.
In Baltimore, former pitcher Jim Palmer spat into a jar. Infielder Chuck Knoblauch reportedly spit into a jar, drank the contents, then spat again. At Yankee Stadium, Hall of Famer Wade Boggs refused, saying he was “very superstitious,” while manager Joe Torre and pitcher Daryl Strawberry did provide samples.
The group appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, where Leno joked, “And you know the nice thing about this stuff, it’ll all go up in value over the years.” Bloom has retained the jars for 30 years, with donor names written on the caps.
