Baseball players use pine tar on their helmets to improve their grip while batting. Pine tar is a sticky, brownish-black substance that is most commonly used by hitters looking to improve their grip on the handle of their bat. The tacky, sticky nature of the pine tar allows hitters to have a more relaxed grip on their bat, which can help in making better contact with the ball and getting more pop on contact. Some players have even been seen to put a healthy amount of pine tar on their helmet rather, or in addition to their bat handle. This is so they can continuously apply pine tar to their batting gloves (or bare hands) by simply touching their helmet. Pine tar is made from distilled pine wood. It is legal for batters to use pine tar on their helmets and bats, with some exceptions. However, for pitchers, it is completely illegal to use pine tar.