Olympics-Baseball-'Best ball in the world' gets mud bath, gloved treatment
30/07/2021 19:27
By Paresh Dave
YOKOHAMA, Japan, July 30 (Reuters) - They hail from Sri
Lanka, enjoy 30-second rubs in U.S. mud, get top-notch service
in Japan because of the pandemic and are called the best in the
world by Joe Ryan, an Olympian who played the game of his life
on Friday.
They are the Olympic baseballs, 144 of them freshly
unwrapped before each of the 16 games at Tokyo 2020. Made by
Japan sporting goods company SSK Corp in Sri Lanka, the roughly
145g white spheres with red laces and black-ink logos are
gaining attention at the Olympics for several reasons.
When the Olympics last held baseball in 2008, balls came
from Japanese rival Mizuno Corp 8022.T , which still supply
softballs, but lost the baseball deal.
In addition, to prevent COVID-19 spread, young stadium
attendants are keeping separate bags of balls for each team
during games and using white-cloth gloves or clear medical ones
for handling. They also ferry to and from the pitching mound for
each side separate bags of rosin, a mixture of pine tar and
chalk to dry sweaty hands and slick balls.
Above all, the Olympic balls are reminding that alternatives
exist to the Rawlings balls sparking frustration and cheating in
the world's top professional association, Major League Baseball
(MLB).
The league this year instituted mid-game equipment checks to
catch pitchers who "doctor" baseballs by surreptitiously rubbing
banned sticky substances such as name-brand offering Spider
Tack.
Pitchers contend the substance overcomes inconsistencies in
design and slippery texture. Better grip increases ball
movement, but MLB officials worry that all the darting and
dipping pitches and the foolish swings at them is making the
game boring.
Joe Ryan, a top Minnesota Twins prospect playing for the
U.S. Olympic team, said on Friday the SSK version "is the best
ball in the world" and urged America to adopt the "amazing" and
"perfect" creation.
After allowing just a run on five hits over six innings, the
25-year-old earned some credibility.
"The hitters love it, I love throwing with it. All the
pitchers love throwing with it," he said. "It would solve a lot
of the current issues with foreign substances. I can't say
enough: It is the best baseball I have ever touched."
The mud rubbers get some credit. Ahead of Ryan's start,
Reuters watched a trio of masked umpiring officials dip their
fingers in water and take a swipe of Lena Blackburne Rubbing
Mud, which is harvested by a small company in a secret location
along New Jersey's Delaware River.
The team then patter balls with the mixture, as if they were
shaping a pizza-dough ball. It removes the slippery sheen of
fresh product.
"So the pitchers can grab it and when they throw it, it's
not slipping off their hands," said Gustavo Rodriguez, baseball
umpire director for World Baseball Softball Confederation.
Cheating and complaints have been minimal through qualifiers
and the first three Olympic days, he said.
MLB requires use of the same mud, but the feel is better
when applied to SSK's ball, people who have used both say.
"If SSK wants to send me some more, I'll give them an
address," Ryan said.
Sri Lanka has never produced an MLB player, but has
celebrated on government social media accounts its Olympics
role. Afterwards, balls will go to Japanese schools and clubs.
Players get keepsakes, too.
Israel's Danny Valencia, who homered off Ryan, said he got
the ball he struck.
"To be able to take these little trophies to show your kid,
show my son, it's a really good feeling," he said.
(Reporting by Paresh Dave
Editing by Christian Radnedge)
((paresh.dave@thomsonreuters.com; 415-565-1302;))