How much does MLB pay for game balls?
The strike zone is the mid point from the batter’s shoulders to the top of the batter’s pants. Obviously it changes with the height of each batter. When watching a game on TV the broadcasters overlay a box in front of the batter which is supposed to display the strike zone. Do the dimensions of this box accurately depict the strike zone for each batter? If so they would have to alter it for each batter.
I dunno but I bet it’s a hell of a lot less than you or I would pay for a regulation baseball. Most estimates put the MLB price at $5-$7 per ball. Even then the cost of baseball over the course of a season is stunning; an MLB team chews through thousands and thousands of baseballs. MLB as a whole uses almost a million balls a year (you have to consider practice balls too.)
I think most broadcasts get the dimensions from the computer MLB uses, and it is adjusted for each batter.
also MLB uses special mud on each ball to make it less slick. They buy the mud only from a guy in NJ. I believe they have 60 balls ready for each game.
Specifically, Lena Blackburne Baseball Rubbing Mud.
Bottom of the batter’s kneecap. See p. 162 of MLB official rules (PDF file).
Yeah, I was confused by that too at first, but he means the top of zone. It was sometimes described as “the letters” which indicated the team name displayed across the jersey front. The shoulders-to-pants midpoint makes some sense, except in cases of uniforms being worn higher or lower at the waist.
OK, I’m still confused.
He doesn’t mention the bottom of the zone. He is saying that the top of the strike zone is midway between the hitter’s shoulders and the top of his pants.
I see. So we are we concerned only with the top of the zone shifting with different batters?