The Evolution of Baseballs
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Everyone at some point has wondered about the number of stitches that are on a baseball, and we have just the answer for you. The stitches are like the ornamental part of a baseball and stand out on it compared to the other materials. The baseballs are the real part of the game because it is the instrument the players throw and try to catch. Unlike most balls from other games, the baseball has a unique feature that is further enhanced with the red stitches on it.
Baseballs have evolved to look how they are now known these days as the unique white and red sport ball. The advancement of baseballs can’t be attributed to one person in particular. It improved to what it looks like now; baseballs were made initially from used shoe rubbers and covered with leather and yarn. The balls used to be darker, lighter in weight, and softer, and it was designed so that a single piece of leather was wrapped around the wound core of the ball and tied with four different lines of stitching that made people refer to it as the lemon peel.
The baseball made in Costa Rica by Rawlings Sporting Goods is made through a final covering of Cowhide adopted in 1974; the baseball core is made from cork that is mixed with rubber. The body is then wrapped with black rubber and another red rubber to cover the black one, after which the yarn is winded. A revolving machine winds 200 yards of yarn, and then another 180 white cotton yarn is knitted around the core of the baseball. After the winding, two stripes of Cowhide or horsehide shaped like an eight are used to cover the baseball after rubber cement has been applied. The Cowhide or horsehide is used the cover the core and is then stapled together and stitched.
How many stitches are on a baseball
Stitches on baseballs are used to hold together the horsehide or Cowhide used to cover the core of the baseball. The stitches on a baseball are the most carefully made part of the baseball; it is time-consuming and needs ramp attention to be carried out. There are 108 double stitches on a baseball, and all are hand-stitched; counting them as an individual stitch makes the stitches a total of 216 stitches. Once the baseball has been covered with the winded with yarns and covered with horsehide or Cowhide and has been stapled, someone has to carefully hand-stitch them together with a red thread. The 108 red double stitches are made with a waxed red thread that is up to 88 inches, and in creating a high-quality and standard baseball, the stitching process takes as much as 13-15 minutes per baseball.
The first and the last stitches on a baseball are completely hidden from sight. With the carefully hand-stitched 108 double stitches, your baseball is evenly shaped and solid, and the two figure-eight cowhide covers are properly stitched together. After the baseball has been stitched, it is further put into a rolling machine to smoothen the stitches to remove any raised stitches on the body. At the MLB (Major League Baseball), the things needed to make the baseballs and the red stitches inclusive are all kept in a temperature-controlled facility to prevent any soft spots from existing on the ball.
What do baseball stitches do?
These stitches, as they are, serve more purpose than holding the hides together, speed is necessary for the game of baseball, and without the red stitches, the ball will not be able to travel as fast as it does.
The stitches on a baseball are very vital in the level of the trajectory of the baseball. There is an interaction between stitches and air as it is thrown; when the ball is in the air, stitches disturb the drag of air on the ball’s surface. The turbulent air enables the ball to spin fast and allows the air to rotate with the ball while in the sky.
Many people have asked why the stitches on the baseball are red; in the early stages of baseball, the baseball stitches were not red but made from the naturally colored Cowhide. The MLB adopted the color red because it was seen as the most visible color for the players.
Conclusion
Baseball games will not be complete and would probably have not advanced to what it is now without the regular changes that have been done to it. The stitches on a baseball, which are hand-stitched, do more than hold the Cowhide together; they also affect the baseball trajectory. Being red adds to the visibility of the baseball.
For more on baseball, check our previous articles:
What Size of baseball bat should you use‘
What is arbitration in baseball‘