Clubhouse managing's dirty work

[braves guru]

Chris Van Zant wasn't on the field when the Braves hosted the Philadelphia Phillies this past weekend, but a little bit of his DNA was on every baseball. Before each game, Van Zant rubbed more than 100 pristine white balls in a mixture of mud and spit — with a little Bazooka gum providing extra grittiness — to dull the shine and add texture to the surface. The muddied balls give pitchers better grip and control. "It's kind of a dirty job," Van Zant said.

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