Baseball, it is America’s pastime, but have you ever really thought about the baseball itself? The beginning of baseball season is one of the greatest days in my life, bringing back the memories of the enthusiastic fans. I can distinctly remember the smell, texture, and the visual of an Appalachian League baseball.
The appalling smell of a baseball is enough to make your stomach churn. Its cowhide wrapping that has been treated with an epoxy to make it stick to the yarn on the inside that causes this discrete stench. Rubber is another component of a baseball that causes a disgusting odor. Also, the pine gripping dust that the pitchers use to have a better grasp on the ball adds to the aroma. With the ammonia smelling center, the chemically treated outer layer, and pine gripping dust there is no question that a baseball can be malodorous.
A baseball has a texture that is hard but smooth. While the ball itself can break or dent almost anything, the outside is as smooth as a cheek on a newborn’s face. You can throw the baseball on the ground but it will not bounce. Squeezing the ball is useless; it is hard as a stone. There are also grip lines on the outside so the pitcher can enhance his grasp. Texture has its effects on the ball, the smoother it is the less effort it takes for the baseball to travel from glove to glove.
On the outside of the baseball there are red threads, insignias, and a signature. There are soft intertwining scarlet threads sewn into the cowhide covering the baseball. Three insignias wrap the ball, one is the minor league symbol that has a player holding a bat with stars behind him, the second is the ball manufacture’s logo, this particular baseball is Rawlings, and the third one is the leagues logo, the Appalachian League with the league president’s signature underneath. The current president of the association is Lee Landers. This distinctly allows you to know that this baseball comes from the Appalachian League.
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