Didjya Ever Notice?
 

This has nothing to do with FPSB and I don't expect anyone to have an answer (wrong board) , but putting it out there...

In MLB low pitch, skips into catcher's mitt.
New baseball.
Why? Dirt puts a spot on ball which batters don't like.

Just watched the first inning of Mil-Atl.
Whole half-inning with the same baseball!

Two of the outs were ground outs where ball hit on the infield dirt, but the same ball stayed in the game.
Seems like there would be "spots" on the baseball, but there was no "ball rotation".

Doesn't this sound a bit contradictory?

Batters love to have a spot on the ball. It helps identify spin or rotation. That is not the reason.

I have been told by MLB umpires that when a pitch hits the dirt...there is a high probability that the leather is scuffed, broken or torn. Therefore, advantage to pitchers who can utilize this. Ball out of play.

"Supposedly" a batted ball does not cause the same effect.

But to go a whole inning....is unusual. :confused:

Glad you said supposedly since the ball off the bat is often faster and with more spin that a pitch. And the dirt in the infield is usually not kept as soft as that around the plate.

I can tell you that the hide doesn't know the difference, nor have I ever seen leather "broken". Even a hide as tough as bison or waterbuffalo, that gets extremely dry and rigid after processing will bend when forced.

Another note, it is usually the catcher asking for a replacement when the pitch is in the dirt, without prompting from the batter OR umpire.

But is makes no difference, if the ball is damaged, get rid of it.

I first started noticing the frequency of new balls being introduced into MLB when I first started umpiring baseball over 30 years ago.

When I was in college, I attended just about every University of Tx home baseball game and found it funny, that foul balls hit off concrete wall always made thier way back into the PU's ball bag. I know those things had to have some major scuffs on them.

Joel

Now a days, I've noticed that they toss balls a lot quicker at the D-I level.

I was just talking to a friend about this while we were watching a game at the watering hole the other night. We both said when we were kids that both of us had played with baseballs that barely had a cover on them, and we still managed to play a game with them. Great times.

Was at a minor league baseball game Sunday and was observing the ball rotation procedures.

One instance I found humerous was after a play, the ball was returned to the infield. The base umpire called for the ball, looked at it apparently found it fit and gave it to the pitcher to use. The pitcher immediately threw it to the catcher for replacement, which the plate umpire supplied and rolled the ball to the bat boy at the home dugout.

In one instance, the catcher rolled a ball to the dugout for the bat boy and got a replacement from the plate umpire. I'm not sure if he was directed to do so by the PU or what. It only happened once, but it looked odd.

They went through a whole lot more balls than I ever see used in a FP game. Of course, we do hunt down the foul balls and return them for use.

I read or heard a few years back that the average life of a baseball in a major league game was 8 pitches.

Also, that with a count of 3-2, the next pitch is fouled off approximately 65% of the time. Maybe you could make a few bucks in a bar on that one. Eventually, the at bat will end somehow, even if it's a caught foul ball.

In a recent game, Boston's Dustin Pedroia fouled off 9 consecutive before delivering a 2-run basehit.

This was in the late 70's early 80's...I think that a hatchet would have to been taken to the ball to be removed from the game.......

I saw balls put back into play that had been scorched against concrete........

Joel