Do professional baseball players pee on their hands?

May 7, 2008 11:39 AM

My husband just told me that it is common knowledge that baseball players pee on their hands to toughen up their skin. I have never heard this before and find it hard to believe.

I have asked my co-workers, who have called husbands and sons and the answer they all tell me is that this is BS.

My husband isn't the kind of person to make this up to be funny, but then again, he might. So I don't know what to think.

Is this true anyone?

posted by chocolatetiara to sports, hobbies, & recreation (25 comments total)

My brother played baseball in college and for a season in the minor leagues, and I never heard this. Then again, it's not exactly the sort of thing you'd brag about to your sister, so maybe he did and I never heard about it.

Or maybe he'd have made it to the majors if he'd peed on his hands....
posted by happyturtle at 11:44 AM on May 7

From a google search for "baseball players pee hands", I found a couple of sites that all reference this Slate article.
posted by pravit at 11:45 AM on May 7

I think that some baseball players think that peeing on their hands will "toughen" the skin on their palms, but really it is a psyclological effect the same as wearing 15 year old never washed gitch.
posted by Mahogne at 11:46 AM on May 7

I've heard that the urban legend that urine can cure athlete's foot, which is a similar idea. This Straight Dope article about that has some facts about what happens when you put urine on your skin:

With athlete's foot so tough to lose, you can see why some might give urine a whizz (har!), and in fairness there's a scrap of sense to the idea. The key isn't urine itself but a compound in it called urea, which is also an inactive ingredient of many athlete's foot treatments. Urea is used in skin preparations as an emollient (softener) and exfoliant (flake remover) — it goes after the thickened skin athlete's foot produces, allowing the fungicide to penetrate and kill the fungus. In fact, because the compound can break down proteins, preparations containing up to 40 percent urea are available to treat nail fungus and even remove toenails nonsurgically, although they take days to work.

So, according to that, urea (and therefore urine) will actually make your skin softer rather than tougher.
posted by burnmp3s at 11:48 AM on May 7

If that were indeed the case, it seems like bad news for the skin around the urethra!

I'm guessing he's either mistaken, or pulling your leg.
posted by bunji at 11:50 AM on May 7

Read the Slate article or do a Google search, but it's more accurate to say it's common knowledge that a few MLB players do this. There is little evidence it's pervasive, and it is (at least perceived to be) associated more with Latin American/Caribbean players.
posted by aswego at 11:51 AM on May 7

2nd aswego...this is something I've heard about for a long time but have never met a person that had done it personally.
posted by mmascolino at 11:56 AM on May 7

I have heard this (esp. relating to Posada) for years.
posted by mattbucher at 11:57 AM on May 7

My husband jokes all the time about Moises Alou doing this, and I thought he was full of it, but I see that Slate backs him up. Damn!
posted by timetoevolve at 11:58 AM on May 7

He is absolutely not mistaken in that it is fairly common to hear about peeing on your hands to toughen the skin or deal with blisters. Whether the practice is common, or effective, is open to debate.

I know Jorge Posada and Moises Alou both have been fairly open about it. I seem to remember that Josh Beckett, who has had blister problems, said it was suggested to him at some point. His blister problems seem to have abated but I don't know if he is peeing on his hands.
posted by dirtdirt at 12:01 PM on May 7

As mentioned in the article Mahogne linked to, it is "common knowledge" that Moises Alou has said he urines on his hands. I am not aware of any other baseball player who has ever talked about it.
posted by 8 Bit at 12:02 PM on May 7

I have often heard of baseball players doing this, but I suspect that the practice is probably not as common as the telling of it. What's funny though, is that urea (a component in, duh, urine) is actually a very effective exfoliant, so peeing on your hands should make them softer.
posted by mostlymartha at 12:09 PM on May 7

Thanks!
posted by chocolatetiara at 12:11 PM on May 7

I agree with burnmp3s that urine is supposed to soften hands. My mother told me that her grandmother used to do this everyday to soften her hands after a day of garden/farm work.

Urine also helps with minor burns and cuts (I have experience with this, it's not gross, I promise!). So maybe they do it to heal any small cracks or blisters that may occur?
posted by theRussian at 12:28 PM on May 7 [1 favorite]

It'll soften them for sure - urine is/was used in the process of tanning and softening leather.
posted by Craig at 12:40 PM on May 7

Urea is also one of the many many ingredients in American cigarettes, I believe.
posted by Wylie Kyoto at 12:50 PM on May 7

If they really want to play some intense baseball, they ought to be drinking it!
posted by crazylegs at 12:53 PM on May 7

I have heard of this in relation to: Jorge Posada, Moises Alou, and Vlad Guerrero. Not widespread, but definitely heard of.
posted by rooftop secrets at 1:11 PM on May 7

I heard from a reliable source that the entire Phillies team does this.
posted by BobbyDigital at 1:17 PM on May 7

Yeah, I believe it's common knowledge that some players do this -- Alou being the most prominent in my mind, a few other Latin American players. But I think it's still regarded by the baseball press as something kind of funny that a few people do, not as something everybody does.
posted by LobsterMitten at 4:06 PM on May 7

I heard from a reliable source that the entire Phillies team does this.

This wouldn't make any sense--most (if not all) players on that team and baseball in general wear batting gloves. Posada and Alou don't (I remember Mark Grace also went gloveless) and they claim they need to toughen up their hands to create the grip to hold the bat.
posted by mattbucher at 5:26 PM on May 7

Where are all the skin-aware folks? :)

Urea is a softener of skin - witness those feet products by, say, Scholl.

Ergo counter productive to toughening-up, for sure.
posted by DrtyBlvd at 1:20 AM on May 8

My personal experience is that urine helps relieving the itchiness and pain caused by chilblains. I know, a home remedy, purely anecdotal, absolutely no scientific evidence to back it up, but it worked a treat for me and my painful toes.

A shame that the Slate article doesn't mention how peeing on his blisters worked out for that pitcher.
posted by =^^= at 2:28 AM on May 8

Peeing on a blister will help it heal. If I can find the link there are also a few rock stars that do this. Although, I am not sure if it will make the skin "tougher".
posted by thetenthstory at 8:38 AM on May 8

This is a complete non-answer, but I love the fact that your husband may or may not be the kind of person that would make things up to be funny.
posted by zach4000 at 11:35 AM on May 9