In baseball, a type of pitch in which the pitcher deliberately scuffs or cuts the surface of the ball to achieve a certain desired spin when the ball is thrown. The pitcher might alter the ball in this way using his spikes or an item concealed in his glove, such as an emory board, or the catcher might use part of his equipment. Scuffballs have long been illegal, but were known to have been used at least into the 1970s.