Baseball remains a popular game in schoolyards, Little League parks, high school, college and the minor and major leagues. All of these games use the same type of ball. Players throw, hit and catch the ball, relying on speed, dexterity and occasionally trickery to change the flight of the ball and affect the outcome of the game. This small white sphere gives the game both its name and its focus.
Then and Now
The first baseballs for professional games had a rubber center, according to the Exploratorium science website. They were small, about 3 inches around, harder and had a lot of bounce to them. In 1872, official baseball rules set the circumference of the baseball at 9 to 9 1/4 inches, but it wasn't until 1910 that the cork center now inserted in all baseballs showed up.
Materials
Modern baseballs are made of a rubber-coated cork center, over which layers of yarn and then string are wound very tightly. All of this is covered with a leather cover, stitched into place. Before 1975, the leather had to be horsehide; now cowhide is permitted. Baseballs have 108 hand-sewn stitches and must weight between 5 and 5 1/4 oz.. Baseballs are always white with red stitches, with the exception of a few special balls of various colors made for special exhibitions, such as the Home Run Derby that precedes the All Star Game each year.
Trivia
A baseball in the major leagues is used only for an average of 6 pitches. Each game requires between six and seven dozen baseballs. Though the balls start out white, they're rubbed down with mud from New Jersey before the game. That makes it easier for the pitcher to grip them. All Major League balls are made by Rawlings at a factory in Costa Rica. Rawlings also makes minor league balls at a Chinese factory.
Pitches
Major league pitchers rely on a handful of pitches to deliver the ball to the plate -- fastball, curve ball, change-up and slider. A few also throw knuckle balls and variations of the basics, such as a slurve, which has attributes of both a slider and a curve. Before 1920, pitchers would wet the ball with spit or some other substance. Adding moisture to one area of the ball results in an erratic, unpredictable flight, making it much more difficult to hit. Various pitchers have used petroleum jelly to grease the ball, or nicked it with nail files or scuffed it with sandpaper to change the flight of the ball. All of these methods of altering the ball are illegal under Major League Baseball rules.
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