Baseball Balls

Baseball balls are simply the balls players use in the sport of baseball. So, no surprises there. A rubber cork centers the higher end balls. Next, they wrap the core in yarn. Then, they construct the ball by tightly stitching together two strips of white cowhide or horsehide. The ball is 9 inches to 9.25 inches in circumference  the diameter is usually 2.86 - 2.94 inches and weighs 5-5.25 ounces. The yarn used to wrap them is up to one mile in span. Baseballs are available in several grades and stamped with different league certifications.

A significant attribute of baseball balls is the stitching that keeps the covering of the entire ball together. After pitching a ball, the raised stitches do act like the wings of an aircraft, catching the wind, and making the ball to swerve slightly and bend on its route to the catcher. The ball may veer to any direction, to the left, to the right, downward, or a combination of directions. It could also swerve sharply or gradually as well. All these conditions happen to depend on how fast the stitches rotate when the pitcher releases the ball.

Official Baseballs

Leagues tend to specify which balls are the official baseballs for play in their league.  In the beginning, around the late 1800s, there was a wide variety of the characteristics of baseball balls. These characteristics include weight, shape, size, and methods of manufacturing. Old, melted shoes were melted and used to make the rubber cores in early baseball. Manufacturers would then wrap these cores in yarn and leather. Some places used fish eyes as Cores. So, obviously there was a wide variety of specs for the different balls, there were no official baseballs.
In the 1850s, the teams in New York attempted to standardize ball specs. They made decisions on the weight and standard circumference on all game balls. The balls were all hand made, and thus the variations were factored in. Tighter windings and more rubber on models resulted in balls flying further and faster. In addition, balls with less rubber and looser windings did not travel as far or as fast. They became known as dead balls. By 1876, with the National League created, standard regulations for baseballs came into effect in all games. Leagues had specifications on what were in fact official baseballs. So now baseball balls are very similar from one brand to the next.