 but he did sport one of the game's best spitballs, which in 1919 was still legal. On this particular afternoon, he had total command of his spitter. The athletic players were flummoxed by the way it bobbed and weaved through the air, impervious to contact. A combination of the bright sunshine and saliva-ridden ball had resulted in just four base runners for the A's through the first eight innings, giving the Indians a slim one-run lead heading into the top of the ninth inning.