MLB uses roughly 100 to 120 baseballs in a typical nine inning game, about 9 to 10 dozen. With 2,430 games on the regular season schedule, that works out to about 260,000 baseballs a season, before counting extra innings, the postseason, batting practice and balls made for autographs. The home team supplies the balls, and many of the ones taken out of play are reused for practice or authenticated and sold.
The Numbers
Estimates based on the commonly reported average of 8 to 10 dozen balls per game. MLB does not publish an official count.
Why So Many Balls Are Used
A ball leaves play for many reasons: foul balls and home runs into the stands, pitches in the dirt, balls tossed to fans after the third out of an inning, and any ball a pitcher or umpire considers scuffed or discolored. Under MLB’s rules the umpire replaces a ball that has become discolored or unfit for use, and pitchers routinely ask for a new one after a single pitch. The average ball lasts only about six pitches in a big league game.
How Game Balls Are Prepared
New baseballs come out of the box slick, so before every game they are rubbed with Lena Blackburne Baseball Rubbing Mud, a fine mud collected from a tributary of the Delaware River in New Jersey. The rubbing is done by clubhouse attendants under the umpires’ supervision, and the prepared balls are stored in a humidor until game time. Every MLB ballpark has used a humidor since 2022, which keeps the balls at a consistent humidity and weight. During the game the home plate umpire carries several balls in a pouch and restocks from a supply held by a ball attendant.
What Happens to Used Baseballs
Baseballs removed from play are not put back into that game. Some go to batting practice, some are handed to fans, and notable ones, such as a milestone hit or a strikeout that ended a game, are marked by an MLB authenticator and sold through MLB Auctions with the date, players and play recorded. Clean, unused game balls stay in the home team’s supply for later games.
Who Makes MLB Baseballs
Rawlings has been MLB’s exclusive baseball supplier since 1977, and MLB has owned a stake in the company since 2018. Every official MLB ball is hand sewn at the Rawlings factory in Costa Rica. The ball has a cushioned cork center wrapped in rubber, layers of wool and poly cotton yarn, and a cowhide cover held together by 108 double stitches of red thread. Triple A now uses the same MLB ball as well, so players who are called up see the same baseball.
How Much Each Ball Costs
At roughly 260,000 balls a season, baseballs are a real line item for every club. See our breakdown of how much an MLB baseball costs.
The Bottom Line
A typical MLB game goes through about 9 to 10 dozen baseballs, which adds up to roughly 260,000 balls over a regular season. Most retired balls are reused for practice, given to fans or sold as authenticated memorabilia.
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