How Baseballs Are Made? The Process Explained
Contents
Have you ever wondered how a baseball is made? It’s actually a pretty fascinating process. In this blog post, we’ll take a detailed look at how baseballs are made, from start to finish.
Materials
There are only a few materials you need to make a baseball: thread, yarn, rubber, cork, and leather. The materials are all easily obtainable, and the process to put them together is not complicated. Let’s take a look at how baseballs are made.
Rawhide
Rawhide is the first step in creating a baseball. Rawhide is a type of leather that is made from cowhide. The cowhide is soaked in water and then stretched over a mold. Once the rawhide dries, it is cut into the shape of a baseball.
Wool
Wool has been used in baseball covers since the game’s inception. It was chosen because it is a strong and durable material that can withstand the rigors of being hit by a bat or thrown with great force.
The wool used in baseballs is sourced from sheep that are raised specifically for their wool. The wool is sheared from the sheep and then transported to a mill where it is cleaned and processed into yarn.
Once the wool yarn is created, it is sent to a company that specializes in creating the covers for baseballs. The wool yarn is dyed and then woven into a fabric that is cut to the proper size and shape for a baseball cover.
The cover is then sewn onto the ball and the stitching is done by hand. Once the ball is complete, it is coated with rubber to give it its bounciness, and then stamped with the official Major League Baseball logo.
The Manufacturing Process
Baseballs are made from a core of cork mixed with a rubber compound, wrapped in yarn, and covered with a leather casing. The manufacturing process of a baseball is fairly simple and has been unchanged for many years. Raw materials are mixed together, shaped into a ball, and then sewn together. The baseball is then varnished and stamped with the official MLB logo.
Soaking the Rawhide
The first step in making a baseball is to soak the rawhide in a solution of water and salt. This helps to soften the hide and make it more pliable. After soaking, the hide is placed in a machine that stretches it out and dries it.
Once the hide is dry, it is cut into strips that are about 3 inches wide and 18 inches long. These strips are then wound into balls. The balls are then placed in a machine that tumbles them around until they are nice and round.
Once the balls are rounded, they are ready to be sewn. A special sewing machine is used to stitch the balls together. The stitches are nice and tight so that the ball will not come apart during use.
Cutting the Rawhide
The cover of a baseball is made from two strips of white rawhide. A skilled worker uses a machine to cut the rawhide into perfect circles. After that, the workers put the rawhide circles into a machine that stamps out the red stitches.
Shaping the Rawhide
After the cowhide arrives at the Rawlings factory in Costa Rica, it is cut into 12-inch by 12-inch squares. Once the squares are cut, they undergo a stamping process that imprints the baseball stitching design onto them.
After the stamping process, the hide is put into a large machine that uses steam to soften it. This allows Rawlings employees to shape the hide into a baseball shape. Once the ball has been shaped, it is put into a mold that ensures every baseball is exactly the same size.
Lacing the Rawhide
The next step is to lace the rawhide around the rubber core. The lacing process is done by hand and requires a great deal of skill. A worker sits at a lacing machine, which consists of two rotating metal drums. The worker threadseach end of the rawhide through a separate drum. As the drums rotate, the rawhide is wrapped around the rubber core. The amount of rawhide used to lace a baseball varies, depending on the size of the ball, but it averages about 20 feet.
Covering the Baseball
To start, a cowhide is cut into 12-inch-wide strips that move along a conveyer belt. The strips travel to a stamping machine that impressed the baseball’s now-familiar stitch pattern onto the cover. Once that’s done, the stamped cowhide is cut into circular blanks that are a little more than twice the size of a finished baseball.
These blanks are Trimmings from the outer edge of the hide are used to make tanned leather laces for gloves and other baseball products. Then, the blanks are put into a lathe that trims them down to their final size and rounds off their edges. After that, they’re ready to be sewn together.
Quality Control
Each MLB baseball is handcrafted and hand-stitched by Rawlings in Costa Rica. The process begins with a small group of 12-year-old girls who select the best hides from a local tannery. These selected hides are then cut and processed into the individual panels that make up a baseball.
Testing for Hardness
Once the baseballs have cooled, they are ready for testing. A machine measures the hardness of each ball to ensure it meets major league standards. If a baseball is too hard, it might break a bat or injure a player. If it’s too soft, it won’t travel as far when hit.
After checking for hardness, each ball is weighed to make sure it meets major league specifications. The weight of a baseball must be between 5 and 5 1/4 ounces. If a ball is too light, it might not have enough momentum to travel long distances when hit. If it’s too heavy, it will be difficult for batters to swing the bat with enough force to hit the ball hard.
Checking for Leaks
After the baseballs are stitched, they are placed in a water tank to check for leaks. If any of the balls are leaking, they will be taken out of the batch and fixed.
The Finished Product
After the baseballs are sewn, they are ready to be used in a game. Baseballs that are used in major league games are strictly regulated. They must be between 9 and 9 1/4 inches in circumference and between 5 and 5 1/4 ounces in weight. They must also be composed of a core of cork, rubber, or a combination of the two, surrounded by yarn wound around the core, and covered with two strips of white cowhide leather, tightly stitched together.
