Baseball’s claim to being America’s game is less certain today than in the past, with other professional sports such as gridiron football posing more potent competition. Minor league baseball itself became a shell of its former self in the 1990s, and the sport was hampered by player strikes, free agency, and disparities in competition.
A baseball game is played by two teams of players, the batting team and the fielding team. The batting team plays on offense while the fielding team plays defense. The goal is to score runs by hitting the ball and running around the bases to home plate. The game is divided into “innings,” with each inning containing three outfielders and two batters.
Until recently, baseballs were only analyzed on the outside. Now, scientists are investigating the inner workings of baseballs with computerized tomography, a technology typically used to examine the inside of human bodies. This technology allows scientists to study the baseballs’ insides without rupturing them. They found that the internal properties of baseballs were the same, but the density of the core was different.
Baseballs are manufactured using several different materials. The first layer of material is black rubber, followed by a thin layer of red rubber. After that, a layer of cement is applied to the ball. Next, wool yarn is wound around the ball in three layers: a four-ply gray yarn, a three-ply white yarn, and a three-ply gray yarn. Finally, a poly/cotton blend is woven around the baseball, which provides added strength and reduces the chance of tearing.