How Many Stitches Are In Rawlings Official Major League Baseballs?

Aug 3, 2011

by badbonz007
posted in Tooling Around the House, Inside or Out

Rating:

Baseballs have been around longer than a lot of us have been alive, and yet we take them for granted. Just imagine if they would not have invented the base ball, what would all of those high priced players swing at. Then where would they be. They have given us a lifetime of enjoyment, from the times that you played ball with your father, until the times that you played ball with your pets. The baseball has brought everyone some type of enjoyment. Too bad they are not the only sport that uses one, that is solely made in the US. The only sport that uses a ball made totally in the US is Football. Since the late 1800's, when George and Henry Rawlings started producing the baseball in 1969, the baseball has been made in Puerto Rico and Haiti because of the low cost and tax benefits that they had to offer. These are offered at just about every major sporting goods store for a small price of 1.99 for the cheaply made ones, to 19.99 for the official MLB type. The main difference that I can see between the cheap ones and the expensive ones, is the special mud from Mississippi, that they coat the official game balls in. After these are coated in mud they are put in a humidor to keep them pliable until the game.

Description
This baseball has 108 stitches that hold a small round ball center, made of a rubber cork casing with a latex adhesive that remains sticky to allow the next layer to stick to it. After the cork center is rolled in the latex, several layers of a four ply wool are applied. After this dries more adhesive is added for the outer layer of a figure eight shaped leather is applied and 108 double stitched are used to sew the cow hide leather to the outside of the ball. Each of these Rawlings balls weighs approximately 5.1 ounce and are approximately 9" in diameter.

Experience
I have experienced a lifetime of pleasure of playing ball with my kids and grandkids and even my pets. They have all at one time or another put their hands or mouths on a Rawlings baseball. There have been times that I have purchased these for the specific reason to get them signed by an exciting baseball player. These are great to have on your mantle or on you office desk with a signature like Ted Williams, you will amaze your friends with a signature like this.

I have even had pets that love to play with these balls for hours tearing the cover off and discovering the middle. It does not take long for my German Shepherd to tear through one of these. But, if you can keep these away from your pets they will last you for several years. I have purchased several dozen of these when I was coaching little league, but that was way back when gas was only 1.00 a gallon. It would not cost you an arm and a leg to play ball. These balls are recognized as the superior to all of the other brands on the market today. These are the only balls that the major league uses. You can purchase the cheaper made ones for your pets to chew on, but they will not last as long.

The cheaper types of balls have a synthetic outer covering instead of the real cow hide that is on the official MLB baseballs. The cheaper types also have a solid cork and rubber centers instead of the 4 ply wool windings around the center. Rawlings produces about 8-10,000 baseballs a day, to keep up with the demand of the MLB teams and regular consumers. Hitting and throwing may not come easy to a lot of people, but Rawlings make it at least look easy because of the way that the ball will fit inside of your hands. The make these so they feel soft but yet you can hit these balls a mile.

Conclusion
I would highly recommend if you want to have a good time and keep these around for years, purchase the ball that only the MLB recognizes as the official baseball of all baseball teams. Even little leagues across the country will purchase dozens of these types of baseballs because of the reputation that they have. Years of perfect production have made Rawlings the best when it comes to baseballs.

How Many Stitches Are In Rawlings Official Major League Baseballs?

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woopak_the_thrill August 12, 2011

Thanks for this one, Harold! Appreciate it!

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About the reviewer

Harold Therault (badbonz007)

My Current Project: Trying to get my first novel published About Me: I am an aspiring writer and I have finished writing my first novel, it is presently being critiqued by an outside company … more