$15.00 +s/h Shop USA Sports - 2009 World Series Program
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Official 2009 World Series Program
$15.00 +s/h Shop USA Sports - 2009 World Series Program
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Monday, September 21, 2009
Derek Jeter Hit Record Memorabilia
Derek Jeter sets New York Yankees all time hitting record with hit number 2772. The record was previously held by Lou Gehrig. Get official licensed sports memorabilia commemorating this historic event at Shop USA Sports
Monday, August 24, 2009
The History of the World Series
Before the birth of the World Series in 1903, there were other postseason championships that took place as early as 1884. Although they are not officially recognized as part of World Series history, they provide a basis for the establishment of what has become recognized as "The Fall Classic".
The Fall Classic has provided us with many magical moments. The first World Series, in 1903, was a best-of-nine affair arranged between the champions of the older National League (founded in 1876) and the American League. The AL's Boston Pilgrims upset the Pittsburgh Pirates, 5 games to 3.
The 1904 NL champion New York Giants refused to play Boston the following year, so there was no Series. But the league presidents ironed out their differences, and the Series resumed in 1905, when the Giants agreed to play Philadelphia in a best-of-seven game series.
Since then the World Series has followed the best-of-seven format, except from 1919-21, when it returned briefly to best-of-nine.
Facts About The Rawlings World Series Baseball (ROMLB) Supplied exclusively by Rawlings® for over a quarter-century, each ball comes carefully crafted, weighed, measured, tested, inspected, and re-inspected. 5 ounces and 108 v-shaped stitches of absolute perfection.
Rawlings Sporting Goods started manufacturing baseballs in 1955 when Spalding bought it out. Both the American and National League balls were made by the same company though the American League balls were stamped with the Rawlings name and the National League balls were stamped with the Spalding name. In 1968 Spalding was forced to sell Rawlings after an anti-trust investigation but continued to contract Rawlings to manufacture baseballs until 1973. In 1976 Rawlings raised its baseball profile when it replaced Spalding as the supplier to the major leagues and started manufacturing baseballs for Major League Baseball producing a ball for the American League and one for the National League. In 2000 Rawlings started making the ROMLB for both leagues. The ROMLB is the official baseball and is the same ball used during each major league game.
Rawlings opened a baseball manufacturing plant in Costa Rica in 1987 and closed its Haitian factory in 1990 because of political instability. Costa Rica produces 80,000 dozen major league game balls a year, not counting additional special ones for the World Series, All-Star Game and other Special Event Baseballs. , Minor league baseballs are made at the Rawlings plant in China. Rawlings was, in 1979, the chief source of baseballs for the amateur market, accounting for about one-third of the annual sale of some 1.2 million dozen baseballs.
Today, instructions call for a cork nucleus that weighs exactly 0.5 oz and is 2.86 to 2.94 inches in diameter. It is to be incased in two thin rubber layers - one black, one red - and weigh a total of 7/8 oz. This nucleus is then machine-wound under high, consistent tension with 121 yards of four-ply blue-gray wool, 45 yards of three-ply white wool yarn, 53 more yards of three-ply blue-gray wool yarn and 150 yards of fine white polyester-cotton blend yarn. This is coated with rubber cement before the cover is put on. The cover consists of two pieces of elongated figure-eight-shaped white cowhide, dampened to permit stretching, which is then hand stitched together, using 88 inches of red cotton thread. Finally, the ball is rolled for 15 seconds while still slightly damp so the seams are even and reasonable flat. It takes about 10 minutes for a stitcher to sew the 108 stitches on each baseball. The first and last stitches are perfectly hidden.
At this point, the balls are still not ready for the big league. Balls are selected at random from each shipment and shot from an air cannon at 85 feet per second at a wall made of northern white ash (the wood used to make bats). Each tested ball must bounce back at between 0.514 and 0.578 of its original speed to be suitably lively for Major League Baseball.
The cowhides for the cover are checked for 17 different defects... stretch marks, tick bites, barbwire marks, etc. The leather is tested for tensile strength and sent to the Rawlings-owned Tennessee Tanning factory in Tullahoma. There, the leather is alum tanned, which gives it the white color, and cut in a figure 8. Two pieces make one cover, and the cover is double stitched by hand using 10/5 red thread. Completed balls are tested for strict compliance with standards and are retested after being shipped to the States. Balls that make the cut are sent to the majors, and those that don't are sold on the retail market.
6-7 dozen baseballs are used in a typical Major League game. The average life of a baseball in the Majors is 6 pitches.
The 2009 Rawlings W S Game Baseball is available NOW at www.shopusasports.com
The Fall Classic has provided us with many magical moments. The first World Series, in 1903, was a best-of-nine affair arranged between the champions of the older National League (founded in 1876) and the American League. The AL's Boston Pilgrims upset the Pittsburgh Pirates, 5 games to 3.
The 1904 NL champion New York Giants refused to play Boston the following year, so there was no Series. But the league presidents ironed out their differences, and the Series resumed in 1905, when the Giants agreed to play Philadelphia in a best-of-seven game series.
Since then the World Series has followed the best-of-seven format, except from 1919-21, when it returned briefly to best-of-nine.
Facts About The Rawlings World Series Baseball (ROMLB) Supplied exclusively by Rawlings® for over a quarter-century, each ball comes carefully crafted, weighed, measured, tested, inspected, and re-inspected. 5 ounces and 108 v-shaped stitches of absolute perfection.
Rawlings Sporting Goods started manufacturing baseballs in 1955 when Spalding bought it out. Both the American and National League balls were made by the same company though the American League balls were stamped with the Rawlings name and the National League balls were stamped with the Spalding name. In 1968 Spalding was forced to sell Rawlings after an anti-trust investigation but continued to contract Rawlings to manufacture baseballs until 1973. In 1976 Rawlings raised its baseball profile when it replaced Spalding as the supplier to the major leagues and started manufacturing baseballs for Major League Baseball producing a ball for the American League and one for the National League. In 2000 Rawlings started making the ROMLB for both leagues. The ROMLB is the official baseball and is the same ball used during each major league game.
Rawlings opened a baseball manufacturing plant in Costa Rica in 1987 and closed its Haitian factory in 1990 because of political instability. Costa Rica produces 80,000 dozen major league game balls a year, not counting additional special ones for the World Series, All-Star Game and other Special Event Baseballs. , Minor league baseballs are made at the Rawlings plant in China. Rawlings was, in 1979, the chief source of baseballs for the amateur market, accounting for about one-third of the annual sale of some 1.2 million dozen baseballs.
Today, instructions call for a cork nucleus that weighs exactly 0.5 oz and is 2.86 to 2.94 inches in diameter. It is to be incased in two thin rubber layers - one black, one red - and weigh a total of 7/8 oz. This nucleus is then machine-wound under high, consistent tension with 121 yards of four-ply blue-gray wool, 45 yards of three-ply white wool yarn, 53 more yards of three-ply blue-gray wool yarn and 150 yards of fine white polyester-cotton blend yarn. This is coated with rubber cement before the cover is put on. The cover consists of two pieces of elongated figure-eight-shaped white cowhide, dampened to permit stretching, which is then hand stitched together, using 88 inches of red cotton thread. Finally, the ball is rolled for 15 seconds while still slightly damp so the seams are even and reasonable flat. It takes about 10 minutes for a stitcher to sew the 108 stitches on each baseball. The first and last stitches are perfectly hidden.
At this point, the balls are still not ready for the big league. Balls are selected at random from each shipment and shot from an air cannon at 85 feet per second at a wall made of northern white ash (the wood used to make bats). Each tested ball must bounce back at between 0.514 and 0.578 of its original speed to be suitably lively for Major League Baseball.
The cowhides for the cover are checked for 17 different defects... stretch marks, tick bites, barbwire marks, etc. The leather is tested for tensile strength and sent to the Rawlings-owned Tennessee Tanning factory in Tullahoma. There, the leather is alum tanned, which gives it the white color, and cut in a figure 8. Two pieces make one cover, and the cover is double stitched by hand using 10/5 red thread. Completed balls are tested for strict compliance with standards and are retested after being shipped to the States. Balls that make the cut are sent to the majors, and those that don't are sold on the retail market.
6-7 dozen baseballs are used in a typical Major League game. The average life of a baseball in the Majors is 6 pitches.
The 2009 Rawlings W S Game Baseball is available NOW at www.shopusasports.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)