It's Tough to be a Ball: The Short Life of Baseballs and Their Brutal History in the MLB
Forget the overpriced merchandise sold at a ballpark, we all know what the biggest brag to come home from a game is. But, let me ask you, how valuable is the baseball really?
A ball in the MLB costs $6, making it $720 spent per game for a team. (via New York Times)
Why are five fans pining for the same foul ball at once? I’m here to tell you that the ball is not all that you think it’s cracked up to be.
You’re one baseball is just a part of the seven to ten dozen balls used in an average game. Among the 30 teams in the league, about 1,550 balls are used in just one day or about 247,860 in a season.
There are countless reasons why players or umpires can change a baseball: luck, dirt, scratches, discomfort, home runs, foul balls, ball boys chucking them in the stands or just because they want to. They have an almost unlimited supply of MLB official baseballs, and once a ball is thrown away, it's never used again.
There’s a reason why there are so many baseballs used in one game.
This is due to the infamous dead-ball era in the early 20th century. Back then balls would be used until they were unrecognizable. The dead-ball era quickly came to an end due to the death of Ray Chapman on August 16, 1920.
Ray Chapman was killed by a pitch on August 16, 1920, during the dead-ball era. (via Qctimes.com)
The cause of Chapman’s death at home plate was notoriously due to the fact that it was so difficult to see the ball. Pitchers were allowed to scuff the ball, put dirt on it, spit on it, smear it and all sorts of other alterations which are highly illegal in today’s game.
The result left the balls misshapen, discolored and able to fly in sporadic patterns on the way to the plate. Baseballs were often used for an entire nine-inning game without being replaced and it was said that some fans would even throw out of play balls back on the field so they could continue to be used. This typically left the balls appearing as brown in color rather than white.
Times have now changed of course.
Wanna know how long your ball lasts before you end up snagging it in foul territory from the opposing team’s outfielder? According to the MLB, a ball often lasts just seven pitches.
I don’t recommend giving up on your dream of grabbing a foul ball and settling for a $30 ball from the pro shop with your team’s logo on it. The cost of one MLB baseball is about $6 and costs about $1.5 million per MLB season and $720 per team for a single game.
You really are better off fighting that one kid in the stands for the ball bouncing near your feet and on full display for the Jumbotron to show.
