LENETZ, DANA
Materials All baseballs used by Major League Baseball consist of the same materials. An inner core is made of rubber-coated cork and then surrounded by three layers of wool yarn and a winding of cotton or polyester yarn. This core is then coated in latex adhesive or rubber cement and covere...
According to the official rules of the American Softball Association, or ASA, however, a softball has the following general specifications: It is smooth with concealed stitches or a flat surface; may be wound by hand or machine; and has a core made of a rubber/cork mixture or other similar...
The balls were hammered manually when it was discovered that the perfectly smooth balls didn't go as far when hit as did balls with small indentations. These indentations were the precursors of the dimples on modern golf balls. Natural and synthetic rubber remain the mainstay of the modern g...