The other day i was at work, and had an interesting talk with one of my managers Fred Vatcher. He brought up a good point. His point was in the MLB why is it that after every pitch that is thrown in the dirt the catcher turns and gives the umpire the ball to throw away. When the ball is roughed up by the bat, the turf, or the dirt when hit by the batter the ball is just given back to the pitcher. So why is it that when it hits the dirt once, the catcher gives it to the umpire to be thrown away. This is a complete waste of baseballs, don't you think. When i heard him say this i started to think, and it actually had me thinking for quite a bit of time. Being a baseball player myself the only reasonable explanation i could think of was they throw the ball away for psychological reasons. I told Fred Vatcher my theory which was: since the ball was thrown in the dirt maybe the pitcher did not have a good feel for the ball, so the catcher got him a new one. With my theory he gave me a counter argument which was true saying sometimes pitchers throw the ball low, and sometimes into the dirt to either set up their next pitch, or even to try to catch the batter chasing. So why do they use new baseballs every time a ball is thrown in the dirt?
This is a question only the MLB can answer, so I am going to send them an email asking them why.
Thank you Fred Vatcher for this Interesting topic.
good topic !
ReplyDeletei'm not sure the real answer. but i know that before each game, the baseballs are rubbed with a special 'mud' from some river. or maybe that's a myth.
the pitchers might feel that any baseball that's been scuffed by the dirt won't be delivered as properly as a clean baseball. it won't feel the same because it will have dirt marks on it.
i've wondered what happens to baseballs that get hit by the batter. if the batter hits a single - does the ball return to the pitcher for the next batter? you'd think that if the ball got slammed somewhere - it would be worse than if it had some dirt on it.
and what happens to all the baseballs that get used during the games? i used to think they got signed by players as 'game-used' balls and then sold. or it might be more likely that they get used as batting practice balls.
i'm sure some research would answer these questions.
when they get scuffed the pitcher can use the scuffs on the ball to change how the pitch is thrown. same reason the pitcher will get tossed for having sand paper in his glove or using pine tar.
ReplyDeleteball in the dirt also makes the very white baseball covered in dark dirt giving the batter less of a chance to hit it the next time. ever wondered why the center field bleachers is all black? so the batter sees a white ball against a black backdrop
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ReplyDeleteJustin is wrong. The center field bleachers are not always black. They are a solid color. It does not matter what the color is. It was introduced to enhance the batters safety. It gives a contrast to the ball so the hitter can pick it up properly. This is so the batter does not lose a 99mph fastball and get beaned in the head.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of this article. There are many reasons for the balls being thrown out. In the dead ball era of baseball, a muddy ball was pitched and it fatally hit a batter in the head. The balls began to be thrown out very easily.
In the modern day, it is a pitchers idea that any dirt on the ball can help the batter pick up a pitch. If the batter sees dirt on an all white ball, he can pick up the spin of the ball and therefore the type of pitch.
Also there is the case of the pitcher scuffing the ball, which is very unlikely in the modern day.
Throwing the ball out has become a norm, for an MLB team, 75 $3 baseballs is virtually nothing to them.
u guys are all missing the original point .... it has nothing to do with the cost and/or waste of balls. Its about the contradiction that balls get thrown out if they bounce at the plate while being thrown ... but when a batter hits a 2 hopper to 3rd and the 3rd baseman thows a one hopper to first and gets the guy out ... why does that ball end back in the pitchers hand after its thrown around the horn ....
ReplyDeletedjtoomuch23. cool name.
ReplyDeleteBut in regards to your post, its because generally there isn't dirt on it. and if the pitcher sees that the ball has dirt on it. He calls time and throws it to his catcher for a new ball.