Baseball players use pine tar to provide a better grip on their bats. Pine tar is a sticky substance made from pine trees that is extremely tacky and is used to maximize the batters grip on the bat. While it is not always used on the handle of the bat, players can put pine tar on their helmets to continuously apply pine tar to their batting gloves or bare hands by simply touching their helmet. Pine tar on the helmet does not offer any extra protection, but some players put it on their helmet proactively to touch it during an at-bat and ensure that their hands are tacky as they like them to be when hitting. Pine tar on the helmet can also look cool to some players, and they might put it on the helmet for that reason only.

According to Rule 3.02(c) in baseball, the bat handle, for not more than 18 inches from its end, may be covered or treated with any material or substance to improve the grip. Any such material or substance that extends past the 18-inch limitation shall cause the bat to be removed from the game. If pine tar extends past the 18-inch limitation, then the umpire shall order the batter to use a different bat. The batter may use the bat later in the game only if the excess substance is removed.

To use pine tar on a helmet, players can take the stick of pine tar or rag coated with pine tar and rub it on the front of the helmet where a logo usually appears and/or on the crown of the helmet. It is best to apply the pine tar on these helmet areas because both have enough surface area for the batter to ensure they have properly coated their hands in the pine tar.