The middle of February means one thing to this sports nut - the beginning of spring training and the baseball season, a sporting rebirth, if you will, after a long, cold winter! The other day earlier this week, I was looking at a piece of sports memorabilia in my house which brought this emotion to the surface immediately.
Great Memories
It was a beautiful wooden baseball holder, in the shape of home plate and hold about 30 balls. It has a collection of baseballs that I have collected over the years at various ballparks throughout the country either at batting practice, spring training, or during actual games ( including my first official Rawlings baseball which was a foul ball of the bat of Wally Backman back in April of 1984 at a game at the recently torn down Shea Stadium between the New York Mets and the Pittsburgh Pirates ). As I look at this beautiful piece, a flood of memories flow through me from various venues that I have visited through the years. A majority of these baseballs are official Rawlings Major League Baseballs.
The Big Boys Ball
Rawlings is the official supplier of baseballs to the Major Leagues. Being the baseball used by today's major leaguers, Rawlings, consequently, has to produce a high quality product. Their baseball is the regulation size of five ounces as prescribed by MLB and contains exactly 108 stitches. When you look at the baseball, the patriotic overtones of our great pastime flow through. Just look at the colors of the baseball! The writing on the ball is in blue, the baseball itself is white, and all the stitches are in red. It may be subconscious but this corresponds directly to the colors of our flag and great country which is so really apropos.
Cost
At most sporting goods stores throughout the country a single baseball will cost between fifteen and twenty dollars - which is, quite frankly, insane. I have seen a dozen balls sold together retail for about $159.99 in a Sports Authority near my home. Of course, these prices are very high for a baseball. Unfortunately, the fact that it is associated with Major League Baseball results in these exorbitant prices.
A ball like this costs probably one or two dollars to make so the profit margins for MLB, obviously, are astronomical. The absurdity of charging five to ten time multiples in price is ridiculous and not lost on us all and I would never pay such a ridiculous price. My collection of baseballs is composed entirely of baseballs that I have collected over the years at ballparks. I am proud to say that I have never bought one of these in a store.
It is a great symbol of the wonderful sport of baseball but it's also, conversely, quite symbolic of the undeniable greed of this great sport, too.
Final Summary
The Rawlings Major League Baseball is a great denotation of our magnificent national pastime. Although obnoxiously overpriced in retail establishments, it still represents the greatest game in the United States of America!
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Fantastic prices with ease & c...(Stock status: N/A)
Used by both American and National Leagues. Major League grade full grain leather cover. Major League seams. Exclusive Major League cushioned cork cen...More at Amazon Marketplace
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