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Baseball Ball: Size, MLB, Spalding And Rawlings
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Published: November 15, 2006
The baseball ball is the single-most important piece of equipment in the game of baseball. It is involved in every play and every moment of a professional baseball game.
In the pioneering days of the sport, one baseball would be used per game, provided it would not become overly damaged.
If a ball were to go into the stands, stadium officials would pause the game to retrieve the same baseball before the game could continue.
Unlike many other sports, where the tradition of returning a wayward ball to the playing surface continues, Major League Baseball (MLB) now estimates games in its league use an average of 10-dozen baseballs per game, not including the approximately 15-dozen baseballs used exclusively in batting practice before the game even begins.
Despite the financial burden this excess places on teams who order the baseballs, before every game, a home clubhouse attendant dutifully rubs specialized rubbing mud onto each of the ten dozen baseballs, reducing the slickness of the out-of-the-box shine and making them ready to be used in a game.
Baseball size is highly regulated by MLB today. Official league rules say each baseball should be a sphere shaped by yarn wound around a center core consisting of cork, rubber or a similar material. An outer covering of two horsehides or cowhides, stitched together by 108 stitches of waxed red cotton thread, should bring the overall weight of the baseball to somewhere between 5 to 5 1/4 ounces and the circumference not less than 9 or exceeding 9 1/4 inches.
Today, Rawlings owns exclusive rights to the baseballs used by MLB. Each ball comes individually wrapped and imprinted with Commissioner Allan Bud Selig's signature.
Albert Goodwill Spalding is a name that will forever be linked with the development of the baseball ball. Despite being a strong major league pitcher in his own right (the first pitcher to ever reach the 200-win mark), the pitcher's fame will be most remembered for the sporting goods company bearing his namesake, which in the late 19th century patented the first cushioned cork core of a baseball.
He also proved to be a valuable international diplomat to the game of baseball, improving its image both at home and overseas. His company continued to grow throughout the years and remains a fixed image in the sporting goods scene today.
Sources:
Albert Spalding. Baseball Library.com. 12 November 2006.
<http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibra ry/ballplayers/S/Spalding_Albert.stm.>
Major League Baseball: Official Info. Major League Baseball Online. 2006. 12 November 2006. <http://www.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/official_inf o/official_rules/objectives_1.jsp.>
Roth, Mark. MLB: The true life story of baseballs. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 22 May 2005. 12 November 2006. <http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05142/508138.st m.>
In the pioneering days of the sport, one baseball would be used per game, provided it would not become overly damaged.
Related Articles
Unlike many other sports, where the tradition of returning a wayward ball to the playing surface continues, Major League Baseball (MLB) now estimates games in its league use an average of 10-dozen baseballs per game, not including the approximately 15-dozen baseballs used exclusively in batting practice before the game even begins.
Despite the financial burden this excess places on teams who order the baseballs, before every game, a home clubhouse attendant dutifully rubs specialized rubbing mud onto each of the ten dozen baseballs, reducing the slickness of the out-of-the-box shine and making them ready to be used in a game.
Baseball size is highly regulated by MLB today. Official league rules say each baseball should be a sphere shaped by yarn wound around a center core consisting of cork, rubber or a similar material. An outer covering of two horsehides or cowhides, stitched together by 108 stitches of waxed red cotton thread, should bring the overall weight of the baseball to somewhere between 5 to 5 1/4 ounces and the circumference not less than 9 or exceeding 9 1/4 inches.
Today, Rawlings owns exclusive rights to the baseballs used by MLB. Each ball comes individually wrapped and imprinted with Commissioner Allan Bud Selig's signature.
Albert Goodwill Spalding is a name that will forever be linked with the development of the baseball ball. Despite being a strong major league pitcher in his own right (the first pitcher to ever reach the 200-win mark), the pitcher's fame will be most remembered for the sporting goods company bearing his namesake, which in the late 19th century patented the first cushioned cork core of a baseball.
He also proved to be a valuable international diplomat to the game of baseball, improving its image both at home and overseas. His company continued to grow throughout the years and remains a fixed image in the sporting goods scene today.
Sources:
Albert Spalding. Baseball Library.com. 12 November 2006.
<http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibra ry/ballplayers/S/Spalding_Albert.stm.>
Major League Baseball: Official Info. Major League Baseball Online. 2006. 12 November 2006. <http://www.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/official_inf o/official_rules/objectives_1.jsp.>
Roth, Mark. MLB: The true life story of baseballs. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 22 May 2005. 12 November 2006. <http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05142/508138.st m.>
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