Selva Lewis Burdette, Jr. (November 22, 1926 – February 6, 2007) was an American right-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played primarily for the Boston / Milwaukee Braves.

Born in Nitro, West Virginia, Burdette was signed by the New York Yankees in 1947, and after making two relief appearances for the team in September 1950, he was traded to the Braves in August 1951 for four-time 20-game winner Johnny Sain.

[3] Along with left-hander Warren Spahn and right-hander Bob Buhl, he gave the Braves one of the best starting rotations in the majors during the 1950s, winning 15 or more games eight times between 1953 and 1961.

[1][8] Burdette was the winning pitcher on May 26, 1959 when the Pittsburgh Pirates' Harvey Haddix pitched a perfect game against the Braves for 12 innings, only to lose in the 13th.

"[5] Frequently repeated motions such as bringing his fingers to his lips and wiping sweat from his forehead lead to rumors of throwing spitballs.

[6][16] After the second game of the 1957 season, Birdie Tebbetts, manager of the Cincinnati Reds, called Burdette a "cheating spitballer," prompting Redlegs' GM Gabe Paul to lodge an official protest with the National League.

[17] NL President Warren Giles responded with a statement clarifying that it was okay for a pitcher to moisten his hands as long as he did not transfer the moisture to the baseball and said, "Until someone—the umpires or someone—presents evidence that Burdette is using the spitter, I'll do nothing about it.

"[18] New York Times sportswriter Red Smith wrote, "There should be 3 pitching statistics for Burdette: Wins, Losses, and Relative Humidity."

The text "Lew Burdette just hit a home run and Milwaukee leads seven to one in the series," appears briefly in a few frames showing a letter from the principal to Beaver's parents.