Rough me up

One of the most overlooked rules in the book is the treatment of the baseball itself.

Why? you ask. First, a little background.

The American baseball is made with a small squishy ball center wrapped in lots of thread. Nine inches of leather is then hand sewn using 216 single stitches to cover the ball, bringing it to its legal size and weight of 9 inches around and 5 ounces in weight. Different sizes are made depending on the country and the level of play.

Each baseball has a waxy type coating on the leather to make it look nice and to preserve it during shipping. It is the responsibil...