The effect of baseball construction on the game of baseball (P275)

Many leagues have introduced or tightened performance regulations of baseball bats over the past decade as the technology to quantify their performance has improved. However, little to no emphasis has been spent oil understanding the range of baseballs that are used across the different levels of play, and as a result, baseball regulations are typically limited to size, weight and coefficient of restitution at 26.8 m/s (60 mph). This paper will explore many of the different baseballs that are used and highlight the similarities and the differences with respect to the construction, overall size and weight, and performance among these baseballs. Coefficient of restitution, both the standard using a flat wood block and cylindrical using a solid-steel half cylinder, and compression tests are used to evaluate the performance in a controlled lab environment.