A thread about baseballs.

2,569 Views | 8 Replies | Last: 5 yr ago by agsalaska
agsalaska
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AG
I'm just curious what you guys used. I played a lot of baseball growing up and I remember we always used Rawlings baseballs We used Little League baseballs as kids and used Official League baseballs as bigger kids. I have a few survivors around from then(-80s-early 90s) that I can still sort of read and are still perfectly playable. We always played with the leather covered ones when we could get them. And every now and then an MLB, then by leagues, ball would show up. The AL balls were blue print and the NL black. We coveted them. Also Rawlings balls. I seem to maybe remember a few other brands, like Worth and Spalding. But mostly Rawlings.

So now my son plays and I coach. And we are good and having a lot of fun. But if you haven't bought baseballs in 25 years, well holy crap.

I get the basic difference in balls. So for my tee ball team I bought what I assume is the same little league ball we grew up with, the Rawlings Little league RLLb1. Since then I have refilled with these Ripken league Rawlings balls R14ucal. I thought they would be the same but they are not. The seams are narrower like a MLB ball but they have the same core and cover.

Anyway our league uses Diamond DOL 1 I think all the way from T Ball thru u10 or u12. I think it is basically the same as the Rawlings Little league ball. I don't even remember Diamond being a brand but obviously after reading 5 minutes on Google they are a big name.


So what balls do you see or use in the leagues you are involved in?
Aggieangler93
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AG
Diamonds or some variant of a USSSA ball. Mainly what we see around Central Texas.
Class of '93 - proud Dad of a '22 grad and a '26 student!
astros4545
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AG
Used one my Dad had in his trophy room display when my friends lost our one ball

Little did I know that that would get us into one of the biggest pickles that any of us, would ever get into in our whole lives
Bregxit
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AG
agsalaska said:

I'm just curious what you guys used. I played a lot of baseball growing up and I remember we always used Rawlings baseballs We used Little League baseballs as kids and used Official League baseballs as bigger kids. I have a few survivors around from then(-80s-early 90s) that I can still sort of read and are still perfectly playable. We always played with the leather covered ones when we could get them. And every now and then an MLB, then by leagues, ball would show up. The AL balls were blue print and the NL black. We coveted them. Also Rawlings balls. I seem to maybe remember a few other brands, like Worth and Spalding. But mostly Rawlings.

So now my son plays and I coach. And we are good and having a lot of fun. But if you haven't bought baseballs in 25 years, well holy crap.

I get the basic difference in balls. So for my tee ball team I bought what I assume is the same little league ball we grew up with, the Rawlings Little league RLLb1. Since then I have refilled with these Ripken league Rawlings balls R14ucal. I thought they would be the same but they are not. The seams are narrower like a MLB ball but they have the same core and cover.

Anyway our league uses Diamond DOL 1 I think all the way from T Ball thru u10 or u12. I think it is basically the same as the Rawlings Little league ball. I don't even remember Diamond being a brand but obviously after reading 5 minutes on Google they are a big name.


So what balls do you see or use in the leagues you are involved in?
Lucky you! Our Little League uses the spongy TVB balls for T-ball. I am managing my son's team this season. Some of the parents, my coaches and I were BS-ing after practice the other day and the topic of paying attention came up. We have a few kids that no matter what have their heads completely up their butts at all times. I mentioned we used regular hard balls in T-ball when I was a kid and all it took was catching a liner upside the head to realize you better keep your head in the game. They all agreed. Plus the kids can't hit those balls for ***** Even with great contact the balls barely get out of the infield.

I can't wait to get to the next level.
Corporal Punishment
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AG
Not sure about model #s but in my house the rank of baseballs is probably (from least to most desired):
-Diamond
-ones with SEC logo
-NL baseballs
-AL baseballs (we're a Rangers household)
-NCAA tournament baseballs (tough to get but certainly obtainable)

(We avoid the other brands all together)

I had Nolan Ryan sign an AL ball when I was a kid. We were so poor that we had to use it to play outside. Of course, that's probably the way the Ryan Express would want it.
03_Aggie
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We use diamond soft core this year. They're like bouncy balls and they will move off a bat on solid contact. They will also bounce 10ft high.

I assume the change is tied to the move to USA bats but we were using hard balls in tball last year.
John E
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AG
astros4545 said:

Used one my Dad had in his trophy room display when my friends lost our one ball

Little did I know that that would get us into one of the biggest pickles that any of us, would ever get into in our whole lives
well done sir
RodTidwell
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astros4545 said:

Used one my Dad had in his trophy room display when my friends lost our one ball

Little did I know that that would get us into one of the biggest pickles that any of us, would ever get into in our whole lives

I saw a documentary on that once. Something Sandpark or something.
agsalaska
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AG
dlance said:

agsalaska said:

I'm just curious what you guys used. I played a lot of baseball growing up and I remember we always used Rawlings baseballs We used Little League baseballs as kids and used Official League baseballs as bigger kids. I have a few survivors around from then(-80s-early 90s) that I can still sort of read and are still perfectly playable. We always played with the leather covered ones when we could get them. And every now and then an MLB, then by leagues, ball would show up. The AL balls were blue print and the NL black. We coveted them. Also Rawlings balls. I seem to maybe remember a few other brands, like Worth and Spalding. But mostly Rawlings.

So now my son plays and I coach. And we are good and having a lot of fun. But if you haven't bought baseballs in 25 years, well holy crap.

I get the basic difference in balls. So for my tee ball team I bought what I assume is the same little league ball we grew up with, the Rawlings Little league RLLb1. Since then I have refilled with these Ripken league Rawlings balls R14ucal. I thought they would be the same but they are not. The seams are narrower like a MLB ball but they have the same core and cover.

Anyway our league uses Diamond DOL 1 I think all the way from T Ball thru u10 or u12. I think it is basically the same as the Rawlings Little league ball. I don't even remember Diamond being a brand but obviously after reading 5 minutes on Google they are a big name.


So what balls do you see or use in the leagues you are involved in?
Lucky you! Our Little League uses the spongy TVB balls for T-ball. I am managing my son's team this season. Some of the parents, my coaches and I were BS-ing after practice the other day and the topic of paying attention came up. We have a few kids that no matter what have their heads completely up their butts at all times. I mentioned we used regular hard balls in T-ball when I was a kid and all it took was catching a liner upside the head to realize you better keep your head in the game. They all agreed. Plus the kids can't hit those balls for ***** Even with great contact the balls barely get out of the infield.

I can't wait to get to the next level.
yea your right. We have a few of those spongy balls in the bucket. They have their place for warming up with the kids that cant really catch. Cause most of those kids are tough enough to get hit by them. But the games should be played with leather high seam baseballs. It only takes a few kids getting hit for the rest to catch on quick. I only have one kid that is really afraid of the ball and he is one of our best hitters. But he runs from a hard hit ball. Plays 2nd base. Frustrating.

The Diamond ball seems like a good ball.
agsalaska
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AG
So for those that are interested, which is probably not very many, my baseball odyssey is coming to a conclusion today. I have always been a brand loyalist. Not for the sake of fashion or being cool, but because I trust the products. For example I have always used Titleist Pro V1 golf balls. Yes I am sure the other brands are just as good. Same goes with ammunition, small engines, to a certain extent cars and trucks, etc.

So this baseball thing has been killing me. I figured out the Rawlings branding of their models and that they take the same ball and brand them for different leagues. So does Diamond. Upon closer inspection those Ripken balls are the same as the Rllb1. They are just like the R14 balls. Same ball. The R12 and Rllb2 or Rolb2 are the same. Just that one is branded for LIttle League (LL) and one for Official League(OL)

Anyway I bought an ROLB2, which is for 12u. A Wilson 1010HS1, which is a high school ball, and some more of those RLLB1. But after talking to the girl at the local sporting goods store today I gave in and bought a dozen Diamond DOL 1(which is the same as the DLL1. No reason to practice with a different ball than we play the games with and we will be using that ball for the next 5 seasons before they go to the Dol A and Dol MVP.



Anyway Diamond it is. Sorry Rawlings. At least he has a Rawlings glove.

Long winded post ended.
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