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Major League umps do not distinguish between new and used balls. All balls are considered new, which is not surprising since no ball stays in play for very long. How many balls are used in one MLB game? 30? 40? Nobody's hitting a ball that's soft.
There can be an enormous difference between new and used softballs, however. (The Dudley Day-Nites that were used when I played were live for one inning.) Softballs, even the same make and model, can deaden at unpredictable intervals. Some go from very live to very dead quickly; others last a while longer. Anyone who umps the home run crusher teams knows that the state of the ball is very much on their minds, and they try to manipulate getting the better ball to hit, especially when on defense they notice the ball is dead. If you're not careful, they'll conveniently "lose" it before they come up.
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greymule
More whiskey—and fresh horses for my men!
Roll Tide!
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