Different sports, different balls, both made in China

April 9, 2020

By Scott Langdon

Canadian Baseball Network

Baseball and tennis have similar mechanical movements and transferable skills, but the balls at the core of each game are among the most obvious differences in the two sports.

Approximately 500,000 baseballs were sold in Canada last year, according to Jason Shipley, Canadian Business Unit Manager, Rawlings Sporting Goods Co., Inc. But all baseballs are not the same.

The company, partially owned by Major League Baseball as the result of an acquisition in 2018, boasts 100 different baseball models for different ages, skill levels and uses. Some balls used in Canada are different from others used in the U.S.

Balls used in Major League Baseball (MLB) are the top of the line and are referred to as “the pearl”. Each ball is handmade with the highest quality cowhide and other materials at the company’s factory in Costa Rica. Balls intended for amateur uses are machine-made in China.

One MLB baseball sells for $49.99. A typical box of a dozen amateur balls sells for the same price, Shipley said.

Rawlings uses different grades of leather, yarn, nylon and other materials to manufacture its array of baseballs. Innovations such as its Extra Inning Technology (EIT) have been developed over the years. Balls featuring EIT have an added polymer layer to help make them stronger and last longer.

A MLB baseball weighs between five and five and one quarter ounces (142-149 g) and is nine to nine and one quarter inches (229-235 mm) in circumference.

Watch how baseballs are made:

Tennis balls

Tennis balls, or fuzzy yellow balls as they are sometimes called, are different from baseballs in size, weight, materials, cost and production processes. Their typical fluorescent yellow colour, sometimes called optic yellow, was adopted in the early 1970s because research showed it was more visible on television.

The properties of tennis balls are specified by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) in the United Kingdom. ITF approval assures uniform and consistent performance. Its technical centre has a specialized climate-controlled testing facility to measure ball properties accurately.

The ITF describes the manufacture of tennis balls as an 11-step process from kneading the raw rubber and adding a variety of powders to give it the required properties of strength and colour to the finishing step when balls are tested and graded. The ball name is then marked by a transferring process. Pressurized balls are typically packed into pressurized tins or tubes to maintain pressure.

The accepted weight range of a tennis ball is 56-59.4 g and the acceptable diameter is 6.54 cm to 8.86 for a type 2 ball.

Tennis balls haven’t changed much over the years, colours excepted, but the ITF has innovated in its testing facility and procedures. A purpose-built wind tunnel, for example, has been created to measure the aerodynamic characteristics of balls. The tunnel is similar to those used by Formula 1 teams when designing and developing the shape of race cars, according to the ITF web site.

Some tennis balls are non-pressurized and the ITF stipulates internal pressure must not exceed 1 psi. These balls have the same size and look of the pressurized type, but are not used for competitions. The rubber is harder and thicker, giving the ball its bounce.

Both types of balls must bounce 53 to 58 inches when dropped from a height of 100 inches.

“The production and quality of tennis balls is strictly controlled,” explained Tammie Sangster, Ontario representative for Penn tennis balls. “Balls are also different for different surfaces. For example, clay courts are watered and the ball can’t absorb water. Balls for hard courts use extra duty felt to make them tougher for that harder surface.”

Watch how tennis balls are made:

Covid-19

Baseball and tennis at all levels are on hold around the world as a result of the current global Covid-19 pandemic. Should officials, players and parents be concerned about the virus and the surfaces of baseballs and tennis balls when play does resume?

“We understand the virus stays on different surfaces for different times. People are being asked to quarantine for 14 days yet our balls are in transport from China for 30 days. Then, land transport to our warehouses takes another 15 days,” Rawlings’ Shipley explained.

It is a similar situation for Penn, according to Sangster. Any concern could arise, they say, from what Shipley referred to as the “on site back and forth” of play.

Can people play either sport safely, even staying six feet away from each other?

“No. Even if you stay six feet away, you can still transmit the virus through the ball,” Lauren Sauer, Director of Critical Event Preparedness and Response, John Hopkins Medicine told ESPN in late March.

“Any surface that is coming into contact with potentially infectious bodily fluids is a risk, especially in the environment where you may have a false sense of security because you’re thinking that you are social distancing like tennis, for example,” she added.

Will the time come when anxiety will lessen and people can resume sports such as tennis and baseball without worry? Could style of play or behaviour be altered in some way to make it safer? Will it be a matter of waiting until the virus is permanently eliminated or a vaccine is developed and distributed?

“The ITF is continuing to monitor all aspects of the sport in relation to the impact of Covid-19 with our internal and external experts. We have not yet issued guidance concerning any modifications upon the return of the sport but will continue to work with advisors and our regional and national associations and other partners to assess the ongoing situation,” a spokesperson for the International Tennis Federation, London, U.K. said in an emailed statement.

The World Baseball Softball Confederation echoed that statement: “The WBSC continues to monitor the latest developments and trends regarding the coronavirus pandemic whilst following the guidelines set out by respective governments, public health authorities and the World Health Organization on the appropriate protective measures to take.”

In other words, “These are early days. We will have to get back to you.”

And in baseball, city sandlot diamonds are closed -- some until June, some until July -- in Montreal, Toronto, Calgary, Ottawa, Mississauga, Victoria and others.