The Complicated History of Baseball Stitching Machines

A professional baseball only lasts for an average of six pitches before being retired, according to Major League Baseball. That means somewhere between five and six dozen balls will be used in every game of this series, which could last for seven games. 500 balls! And each one was hand sewn by Rawlings Sportings Goods, Inc. in Costa Rica, which holds an exclusive contract. That bit of news would give Henry Ford nightmares. Obviously, it would make sense to put together a machine for stitching the leather onto baseballs, but, to this day, nobody has been able to successfully pull it off.