How a Baseball is Made

We've all seen them and played with them. We've all watched them soar into the stands and fit perfectly into a ballplayer's glove. Yet, not many people can tell you how a baseball is made and what materials it takes to form this iconic sport equipment. The sport of baseball itself began halfway through the 19^th century. Alexander Cartwright came up with the rules. He based it on an English game called "Rounders". Cartwright said this new sport of baseball must replace the soft ball with a smaller, harder ball.

A baseball, on the outside, does not look complicated at all. Yet, baseballs are made with precision. Some rumors have circulated throughout the years that the manufactures "juice" the baseballs, created more home runs which brings in more crowds. This has been denied many times by the Major League Baseball and the manufacturers of their products. There is also no proof that the ball's design has been converted or alterations have been made to favor batters in such a way.

A Major League Baseball consists of a round cork center. This is called a pill. It is wrapped tightly in wool and polyester and covered up with cowhide. A combined 600,000 baseballs are used by all Major League teams during the season, according to madehow.com. The average ball stays active on the field for only five to seven pitches. The standard weight of each ball is between five and 5.25 ounces, and they measure between nine and 9.25 inches. This uniform standard was not present in the early years of baseball. Baseballs made then were usually homemade or produced by small business owners. In 1872, the baseball's weight and size were established. When the 1900's came around, the baseball had a rubber core. It only switched to a cork core in 1910.

The only major modification since 1910 was the outside material. In 1974, there was a shortage of supply of horses, therefore putting a higher demand for horsehide. It was during this year that baseballs began using cowhides as the outside covering material.

Basically, there are three parts to a baseball - the pill at the core, the wool and cotton windings in the middle, and the cowhide to cover the exterior of the ball.

The pill is a sphere, measuring 2.06 centimeters or 13/16ths of an inch. It is made of cork and rubber materials. The sphere is enchased with a couple layers of rubber. The inner layer is black and the outer layer is red. The entire pill, with both layers, measures 4.125 inches in circumference.

There are then four layers of wool and cotton windings that cover the pill. The first layer, which is by far the thickest, is made of four-ply woolen yarn and brings the ball to a circumference of 7.75 inches. The second layer is made of three-ply white woolen year and brings the ball to a circumference of 8 -3/16ths. The third layer is three-ply gray woolen yarn and raises the circumference to 8.75 inches. Finally, the last layer is white poly/cotton finishing yarn. At this point, the ball is only .3 centimeters larger than the third stage of layering. Wool was chosen as the main material for the baseball's windings due to the natural resiliency. Wool also has the ability that, when compressed, the material can rapidly return back to the original shape. This made the baseball's ability to retain the sphere shape even after the ball has been hit repeatedly during a game. A poly/cotton blend is used for the outer winding to add strength and reduce the ball from tearing when the cowhide is applied to the baseball.

The outside of a baseball is made of Number One Grade, alum-tanned cowhide. This is primarily from cattle found in the Midwest. Midwest Holsteins are preferred for their cowhide because their hides tend to have better grain and they tend to be smoother and cleaner than most cattle around the United States. The cover of a baseball must be white and must be stitched together using 88 inches of red thread that has been waxed. The cowhides undergo testing in 17 different areas to check for deficiencies. This must be done before the cowhide can be approved and placed on a Major League Baseball.

To produce a baseball, there are three distinct ways- the rubber is molded, the fabric is wound, and the cowhide is sewn. The placement of the materials is put on successive layers around a rubbery sphere the size of a cherry. This must be done under controlled conditions to ensure that the size, shape, and quality of the baseball meet the standards.

The first production phase is molding the rubber. Two hemispheric shells made of black rubber are molded to a sphere of cork. The openings between the two hemispheric shells are sealed using red rubber gaskets which measure only 3/32nds of an inch. At this stage, the total ball weighs only 7/8^th of an ounce with a circumference of only 4.125 inches. Then, after a thin layer of red rubber is molded onto the ball and some cement is applied, wool yarn is then wound around the ball. The cement ensures that the wool yarn will stay in place at the winding operation. The yard is wound in the order specified above. It was stored in controlled fabric temperatures. It is wounding using a computerized technique that ensures that soft spots on the ball are eliminated. This ensures the ball has as smooth a surface as possible. A total of over 200 yards of yarn are used in the first three stages, with 150 yards of poly/cotton being used in the fourth stage. After each stage, the ball is weighted to track if the baseball is meeting baseball standards. The ball is trimmed of excess fabric and dipped in an adhesive. Then, the final layer is the cowhide cover, which is two figure-eight shapes stapled onto the ball and later stitched together using exactly 108 stitches. It takes roughly fourteen minutes to hand sew one baseball. Once the baseball has been stitched, the staples are removed and the baseball is placed into a rolling machine for fifteen seconds to bring up any raised stitches. The baseballs are measured, weighed, and graded on appearance. If accepted, they are finally stamped with the Major League trademark and designation.

How Baseball is Made, Madehow