The baseball

It's a simple, stitched, leather-covered and who has propelled it - matters a lot. So does the mud sphere, but what's inside -

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ON 16 AUGUST 1920, Ray Chapman of the Cleveland Indians stepped up to the plate to bat. Yankees pitcher Carl Sub’ Mays wound up for one of his notorious submarine’ deliveries, the ball leaving his hand from almost ground level. In the fading light Chapman failed to follow the flight of the well-used and discoloured ball, which struck him on his temple with a crack that echoed around the stadium. He died 12 hours later. The only Major League player so to die.

Until then it had been quite common for a single ball to last an entire game, accruing damage as it went, but now so-called Spitballs’ balls modified’ during the game with spit, tobacco juice, dirt or scuffs) were immediately banned. New rules required balls to be changed more frequently, and today the average is an astonishing 120 balls per game.

After more than a century of trying to bash a leather-clad sphere out of the park, in 1934 the two US baseball leagues, American and National, finally agreed on a standardised ball. A New York Times article enlightened fans by describing it thus: The ball will have a cushion cork centre weighing 7% of an ounce, the cushion being provided by one layer of black rubber and another of red, the reason for which was not made known.