My Dumb Baseball Question for Tonight...

[CaliforniaPeggy]

I kept noticing how the home base umpire would give the catcher a fresh baseball when the one in play got dirty or something...

Just how many baseballs does the umpire have?

I'm assuming that he has his pockets full.....or am I wrong?

:shrug:

:hi:

[KitchenWitch]

1. I believe, on average, a major league baseball game uses something like 90 balls a game.

There is always a fresh supply of balls.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. I am sure there is a fresh supply...

But does he keep them on his person?

That's a lot of balls! :crazy:

[KitchenWitch]

5. I think the supply is replenished during the breaks in the innings.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

6. Ah, that makes sense...

[From The Ashes]

3. can't have any dirty balls...

...or something like that...:blush::evilgrin:

[CaliforniaPeggy]

4. My dear From The Ashes!

Oh, we certainly can't, now can we? :evilgrin:

They must be fresh and oh so clean...:9

[Dr. Strange]

17. Oh, I am so close to alerting on you guys!

Okay, maybe not...
:)

[JVS]

10. If you leave a marred ball in, a pitcher can use it to his advantage...

similar to the practice of scuffing

[CaliforniaPeggy]

12. My dear JVS...

Thank you for your serious answer to our rather off-color views!

[some guy]

7. I don't know

how many an umpire keeps in his pockets, but there are also ball boys (or ball girls) who would be designated to run out to the umpire and hand him more at his request any time during the game.

Sort of like bat boys (or bat girls) who go out and pick up the bat after a batter hits the ball and tries to reach base.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

8. Maybe it varies from umpire to umpire...

But I kept seeing him reach in his pocket, and I thought, boy he must carry a lot of them ...

Ball boys and girls make sense, indeed...

Thanks!

I cannot wait till Thursday!

There will be sooooo much pressure on both teams...

:bounce: :bounce:

[some guy]

9. heh - It's the interwebs

holder and dispenser of all knowledge:

From the major league base ball rules of the game:

Rule 3.01 - Before the game begins the umpire shall:

1. Require strict observance of all rules governing implements of play and equipment of players;
2. Be sure that all playing lines are marked with lime, chalk or other white material easily distinguishable from the ground or grass;
3. Receive from the home club a supply of regulation baseballs, the number and make to be certified to the home club by the Office of the Commissioner. Each ball shall be enclosed in a sealed package bearing the signature of the Commissioner of Baseball, and the seal shall not be broken until just prior to game time when the umpire shall open each package to inspect the ball and remove its gloss. The umpire shall be the sole judge of the fitness of the balls to be used in the game;
4. Be assured by the home club that at least one dozen regulation reserve balls are immediately available for use if required;
5. Have in his possession at least two alternate balls and shall require replenishment of such supply of alternate balls as needed throughout the game. Such alternate balls shall be put in play when:
1. A ball has been batted out of the playing field or into the spectator area;
2. A ball has become discolored or unfit for further use;
3. The pitcher requests such alternate ball.

:)

Yep - Thursday should be an exciting game. I hope the Indians win, just because I think that may cause the first game of the WS to be sooner, and I think that would be better for the Rockies.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

11. My dear some guy!

Oh, thank you so much for looking all of that up for me!

That more than answers my question...

And why, pray tell, would a sooner first game of the WS be better for the Rockies? Hmmm?

:shrug:

[some guy]

13. you're welcome

As for why, it's just my theory. They're on a (long) hot streak, and so better to keep playing than to sit around and wait a lot of days between games.

It's six of one a half dozen of the other, I suppose. More days off lets them be more rested.

Besides, I don't even really know if the date of the first WS game is already scheduled, or if it is tentative to the outcome of the LCS games. (if I was a real baseball fan I would know this, though.)

[AllegroRondo]

14. Historical notes

Prior to 1920, it was normal to use one ball for the entire game. By the end of the game, the ball would be scuffed, discolored, dented, and wet (spitballs were still legal). In 1920, Ray Chapman died after being struck in the head by a pitch, which he probably did not see coming. The rules were changed to outlaw spitballs, and to require the use of fresh balls whenever the ball in play became scuffed or dirty.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

20. My dear AllegroRondo!

Thank you for the historical notes!

Those are fascinating...

:hi:

[AllegroRondo]

27. as a side effect, players started hitting more home runs

after the 1920 rule change is when Babe Ruth broke out to become a big home run hitter. Batters could hit the fresh balls longer and harder than a soft and soggy ball used for an entire game.

[driver8]

15. If you notice, sometimes a guy will run out and hand the umpire some balls.

I think the umpire usually has 3 or 4 on him at one time.

[NewJeffCT]

16. That sounds about right

I think they normally have 3-4 (maybe 5) in their pockets each inning. If needed, they'll get new ones between innings.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

21. My dear driver8...

I hadn't actually noticed that happening...

The camera doesn't linger on him much...

Between plays, anyhow!

Thanks for the info...

:hi:

[Zavulon]

18. In the 1970s, when my uncle worked for the Montreal Expos,

I remember him telling me that each team always had a supply of 60 baseballs for each game. However, back then it wasn't nearly as common for outfielders and the ball girls sitting in foul territory to throw balls into the stands to appease manic souvenir hunters. Nowadays the supply tends to vary from team to team, but when a major league game starts you can bet that a minimum of 100 baseballs are on hand, usually more.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

22. My dear Zavulon...

More baseball history!

I thank you for this snippet...

Fascinating game, for sure!

:hi:

[Parche]

19. My Dear CaliforniaPeggy

This is not a sex thread, the Umpire has 2balls only...........:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:
:hi:

"Paradoxically, Man's endless search for knowledge has often plundered his courage and warped his vision, so that he has faced the unknown with terror rather than awe, and probed the darkness with a scream rather than a light. Yet there have always been men who have touched the texture of tomorrow with understanding and courage. Through these men, we may yet touch the stars."

[CaliforniaPeggy]

23. My dear Parche!

A sex thread? Moi? O8)



:evilgrin:


:spank: :spank:


:rofl: :rofl:

[chieftain]

24. Back when Charley Finley owned the KC A's, there was

a mechanical rabbit under a trap door behind home plate that the umpire would activate when he needed more baseballs. The door would open and Harvey,the rabbit, would emerge with a basket of balls. This travesty is one of the milder sins that Finley probably spent some time in Purgatory for advocating including orange baseballs, moving to Oakland and, most heinous of all, night world series games.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

25. My dear chieftain!

Oh my god, what a picture that makes!

Not too dignified, hey?

Thank you for advancing my education...

:hi:

[chieftain]

29. Happy to share stories about the oddity that was KC baseball

under Charley O. BTW, I always enjoy your posts

[CaliforniaPeggy]

30. Thank you so much!

That was very sweet of you...:hug:

[madinmaryland]

26. They are allotted 72 baseballs per game.

They start the game with 72 brand new baseballs, and the home team is required to have 90 baseballs on hand.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_baseballs_are_used_during_a_MLB_game

:hi:

[CaliforniaPeggy]

28. My dear madinmaryland!

Oh, thank you, sweetie!

Wow, my little dumb thread has turned into a positive history of baseballs!

I appreciate your participation a lot!


:hug: