This video captures Yankees Mariano Rivera in the act of spitting. Maybe the ball insulted him. Maybe Roberto Alomar was a hero of his. Maybe he’s spitting saliva to the ground. Or maybe… he’s preparing a spitball.

It would seem pretty unbelievable that Rivera could be the best closer in the game for 13 seasons all because of a spitball no one has ever noticed him throwing before. For years, it has been the famed cut fastball that has made him nearly unhittable.

But one cannot blindly refute this evidence. With the introduction of hi-definition television, more is seen than ever before. Remember the 2006 ALCS, where Kenny Rogers was lights out for the Detroit Tigers? And then screenshots showed a funny brown smear on his pitching hand, likely pine tar and not a lack of toilet paper.

Because FOX was cutting away to another shot as the spit was either landing on or passing by the ball, it is impossible to tell exactly what is going on here. It is hoped that FOX kept all its tapes from yesterday’s Game 3, so that it can either confirm or deny this conspiracy theory.

For those with more interest in this internet hotfire story, Kevin Kaduck of Yahoo! Sports blog Big League Stew cuts through the sarcasm to bring us some reason.