Behind The Seams

Think steroids testing is tough? Wait 'til you see what the baseballs face

Each season, Rawlings manufactures 720,000 baseballs for use in major league games. In March and September, 72 baseballs are sent to the Baseball Research Center at UMass Lowell, to make sure they're up to spec. The lab has been testing balls since 2000, when MLB first asked BRC director Dr. James Sherwood to help quell rumors of ball juicing. "Although Rawlings has an excellent quality control department," Sherwood says, "having an independent source test the balls lends a great deal of credibility." Sherwood invited The Mag into his lab to see what baseballs go through to earn playing time in The Show.

1 WATCHING THE WAISTLINE
To determine whether the balls are fit for play, the BRC measures each for size (circumference) and weight. Each ball must be between 9 and 9.25 inches around at its fattest and weigh between 5 and 5.25 ounces. BRC assistant director Patrick Drane measures size with a Vernier scale steel tape, which is accurate to .001 of an inch. Balls are weighed on a digital balance that is accurate to .005 of an ounce.

2 SEAMINGLY TALL
The slightest change in the height of the 108 stitches that hold a ball together can dramatically affect airflow and, consequently, the movement of a pitch. "If the stitches are too high, your average Joe would look like Barry Zito," says Drane. "Too low, and you may have a home run derby on your hands." The BRC measures the stitching of each ball in six different spots and calculates the average. The threads on MLB balls must be .03 of an inch high, while the stitches on the balls used in the NCAA rise .05 of an inch. The difference doesn't seem like much, but it's a great out for ex-collegiate pitchers whose breaking balls stop breaking in the pros.

3 HIGH PERFORMANCE
BRC's goal is to make sure every baseball performs identically in simulated game conditions, so it evaluates how a ball reacts when it is hit and with what force a hit ball leaves the bat. During this exam, a pitching machine fires 60 mph knuckleballs at a bat or at a 2.5-inch block of white ash mounted on a steel-reinforced wall. Using a ballistic speed gate (read: über accurate radar gun), the team measures the speed of both the pitch and the rebound. A good ball rebounds at about 55% of the pitch speed—or approximately 18 mph if Tim Wakefield is on the mound.

4 MAKING SURE THE DEAD BALL ERA STAYS DEAD
Hardness helps determine the distance a batted ball travels—the harder the ball, the farther it flies. To measure hardness, lab techs fire up the compression machine, place a ball between two steel plates and slowly increase pressure. Game-ready balls depress a quarter of an inch under 250 pounds of force—meaning they flatten like a water weenie from the power of an A-Rod swing.

5 STRIPPING DOWN
The baseball's physical concludes with a four-part dissection. First, the leather casing is removed, weighed and stretched to test for strength and durability. Says Sherwood: "The ball would have to be extremely worn or inherently defective for a player to actually 'hit the cover off the ball.' " Next, the first layer of cement-coated cotton thread is cut and peeled off. The cotton creates a smooth, even layer between the cover and the coarse wool yarn underneath. After weighing what remains of the ball, Drane uses an electric drill to unwind roughly 477 feet of yarn. A sample of the yarn is then dunked in bleach to dissolve the wool, leaving remnants of dirt, dust and foreign fibers; to earn a passing grade, the yarn must be 85% wool. Finally, the baseball surgeons are left with a cushioned cork "pill" covered with two layers of rubber. Assuming the balls are fit (and no bunch has ever failed), Sherwood tells MLB they're good to go. George Mitchell should have it so easy.

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