The NJ Man With One Of The Coolest Jobs In Baseball
Get ready to meet the NJ man with one of the coolest jobs in baseball. I was so pumped to have a conversation with Jim “Jimbo” Bintliff. Jim has one of the most unique gigs out there. He supplies the mud that is rubbed onto every baseball in every Major League game.
Why Baseballs Need Mud
In August, 1920, Ray Chapman became the first and only player in the history of Major League Baseball to die from being hit by a pitch. At the time, only one ball per game was used, and they used the ball exactly as-is. During games, that ball would get very wet (sweaty), and this made its path quite unpredictable at times. For years, the league kept looking for a solution to this issue. They initiated helmets into games and increased the number of balls used per game 100 fold. Yet, they still couldn’t find the right substance to put on baseballs. Over the years they tried dirt from the infield (made the balls look funny), and shoe polish (ruined the leather coating of the ball), but still couldn’t find the right answer.
A NJ Man Solves The Problem
It took Philadelphia Athletics’ third base coach Lena Blackburne to finally come up with the perfect hack in 1938. He brought in mud from the banks of the Delaware River, near his home in Palmyra, New Jersey. The mud was the perfect consistency to use, didn’t hurt the ball in any way, and was easy and relatively cheap to obtain. From then on, every ball used in a Major League Baseball was coated with Jersey mud. With that, Lena Blackburne’s Baseball Rubbing Mud business was off!
A general detail view of Major League Baseball Rawlings baseballs during the National League West Los Angeles Dodgers versus New York Mets game on 25th July 1993 at at the Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California, United States. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Allsport/Getty Images)
Nothing Works Better Than Mud
Thank about it, though. Major League Baseball is a multi BILLION dollar industry. Why do they depend on a dude who gathers mud from the Delaware River? Over the years, several companies, and even Major League Baseball, have tried to find alternate means to tenderize those balls. Each time some miracle substance comes along, touting the fact it’s better than mud, it fails. Nothing beats the consistency of that Jersey mud. It works! For the foreseeable future, Jimbo is the NJ man who gives Major League baseballs their mud.
One Of The Coolest Jobs In Baseball
The business changed hands a few times before being passed on to the Bintliff family. Jim Bintliff has been taking a handful of yearly trips to that secret spot since 1980, using the simplest of tools. The true secret, other than the location of the mud hole, is how the mud is cured after it’s collected. Without a doubt, it’s one of the coolest jobs in baseball. I found this story fascinating, and since Jim and I are Facebook pals, I reached out to him to see if he wouldn’t mind spending a few minutes to chat about his work. He very kindly obliged. Obviously I wasn’t going to ask Jim to reveal any family secrets. I did have the chance to ask him about how his family got involved, why the mud doesn’t smell bad, and what the best perk he’s ever gotten from MLB as a result of being their “mud man.”
Thanks again to Jim Bintliff for taking time, during the busiest part of HIS season, to chat with me. I learned a lot, including which OTHER Pro League is using his mud! Watch our chat below, and definitely check out Jim’s website HERE. You can even buy the same mud the pros use for YOUR team!
Play ball!
History of Philadelphia Phillies World Series Appearances
Ya Gotta' Believe (1980)
The franchise began as the Philadelphia Quakers in 1883, and the first World Series took place 20 years later. However, Phillies fans had to wait until 1980 to celebrate their first World Series.
Mike Schmidt led the team with two home runs and seven RBIs in the series. Tug McGraw struck out Willie Wilson for the final out in Game 6 at Veterans Stadium end the drought.
Macho Row Falls to Joe Carter (1993)
The 1993 Phillies became one of the most beloved teams in Philadelphia sports history because of the “Macho Row” mentality that landed so perfectly with the fan base. A colorful mix of personalities like Curt Schilling, Lenny Dykstra, and John Kruk helped push the Phillies past the Braves in the NLCS.
One of the most infamous moments in franchise history ended the memorable ride. Mitch Williams surrendered a walk-off home run to Joe Carter in the 9th inning of the Game 6 clincher.
Surviving Mother Nature (2008)
The Phillies announced a new era of dominance in 2007 by storming back on the New York Mets for their first playoff appearance in 14 years. However, they left the fan base hungry for more with a quick playoff exit. Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, and Cole Hamels delivered one year later with an unforgettable playoff run.
Shane Victorino’s grand slam helped the Phillies to a commanding lead in the NLDS. Matt Stairs hit an absolute moonshot at Dodger Stadium. Utley made the best heads-up play in MLB history for the third out of the 7th inning in the clincher.
Mother Nature made them wait two extra days, but Brad Lidge eventually threw the final strike to break a 25-year championship drought for major professional sports teams in Philadelphia. Hamels took home the hardware as the World Series MVP at age 24.
Just Short of Back-to-Back World Series (2009)
The defending NL champions sunk the Dodgers again in the NLCS to advance back to the World Series. Cliff Lee dominated a stacked Yankees lineup in Game 1, but the Phillies ultimately ran out of gas just short of the finish line.
Cole Hamels ended his disappointing 2009 season with a Game 3 loss. Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, and Hideki Matsui overwhelmed a pitching staff that didn’t have enough behind Lee to win consecutive titles.
"Dancing On My Own" To A Miracle Run (2022)
The Phillies backed into the 2022 MLB Playoffs, but their first postseason trip in over a decade made the fan base forget quickly. A 9th inning rally in the postseason opener raised some eyebrows, and the Phillies set themselves up for the triumphant return of Red October at Citizens Bank Park.
The Atlanta Braves didn’t know what hit them in an NLDS stunner, and Bryce Harper capped off the NLCS with the swing of his life against the San Diego Padres.
Only the Houston Astros stood in the way. The Phillies slugged their way to a 2-1 lead in front of a raucous crowd in Philadelphia, but the Astros responded with a combined no-hitter in Game 4 to suck the momentum out of the miracle Red October run. The series ended with another heartbreaker in a Game 6 loss in Houston.
