The New York Times- He’s Baseball’s Only Mud Supplier. It’s a Job He May Soon Lose — Hannah Beier

He’s Baseball’s Only Mud Supplier. It’s a Job He May Soon Lose

Written by Dan Barry for The New York Times. This particular mud, hauled in buckets by one man, Jim Blintiff, 65, from a secret spot along a New Jersey riverbank, is singular in its ability to cut the slippery sheen of a new baseball and provide a firm grip for the pitcher hurling it at life-threatening speed toward another human standing just 60 feet and six inches away. Tubs of the substance are found at every major league ballpark. But M.L.B. executives do not exactly get all misty-eyed over the whimsical tradition of what is called Lena Blackburne Baseball Rubbing Mud, which they say is too often inconsistently applied. In their quest to make balls more consistent — and the game more equitable — they have tried to come up with a substitute, even assigning chemists and engineers to develop a ball with the desired feel. “If they stopped ordering, I’d be more upset by the end of the tradition, not my bottom line,” Blintiff said.”

Jim Bintliff, 65, owner of Lena Blackburne Baseball Rubbing Mud, shovels mud into a bucket along the Delaware River in New Jersey.

Jim Bintliff, 65, owner of Lena Blackburne Baseball Rubbing Mud, poses for a portrait along the Delaware River in New Jersey.

Jim Bintliff, 65, owner of Lena Blackburne Baseball Rubbing Mud, settles water out of mud that is being left to age at his home in Longport, New Jersey.

Jim Bintliff, 65, owner of Lena Blackburne Baseball Rubbing Mud, carries mud he collected into his garage at his home in Longport, New Jersey.

Jim Bintliff, 65, owner of Lena Blackburne Baseball Rubbing Mud, demonstrates removing the gloss off of a new baseball with rubbing mud at his home in Longport, New Jersey.

Jim Bintliff, 65, owner of Lena Blackburne Baseball Rubbing Mud, poses for a portrait along the Delaware River in New Jersey.

A footprint is pictured after Jim Bintliff, 65, owner of Lena Blackburne Baseball Rubbing Mud, collected mud along the Delaware River in New Jersey.

Jim Bintliff, 65, owner of Lena Blackburne Baseball Rubbing Mud, heads back to his car after collecting mud along the Delaware River in New Jersey.