Green MLB practice balls ????

[wllump52]

I recently purchased some bats from the SF Giants and noticed a few of the bats had green ball marks on them. I asked the Giants about this and their response was....


"MLB now has what they call "practice" balls used in batting practice that have green lettering."



I was wondering whether any one else was aware of this, whether all teams use these balls etc. If it is standarized now, it would be way to distinguish a BP bat and a game bat. Any information would be appreciated.




PS-- Also received a list of bats, jerseys that the Giants have up for sale. I can forward this list to anyone who is interested.

[ahuff]

Re: Green MLB practice balls ????

Take a look at this getty image (image number 71021802 ). It is hard to tell, because the sun is hitting the basket of balls. But to me, it does appear that both blue and green printed balls are in the same bag.

[eGameUsed]

Re: Green MLB practice balls ????

I got a couple dozen bats from the Astros in Spring Training and the blonde bats were loaded with hideous green ball marks. That must have been fresk ink! It made it obvious it was a BP bat.

Thanks,

[wllump52]

Re: Green MLB practice balls ????

Here is a picture of one of the bats I have....


[IMG]file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/Steve%20Smith/ja2.JPG[/IMG]

[Birdbats]

Re: Green MLB practice balls ????

I can confirm the BP balls have green ink... my son snagged one off the bat of Andruw Jones last night before the game at Busch.

Other than the green ink, there are two main differences between these balls and regular game balls. First, instead of saying "Major League Baseball" above Selig's signature, it says "Training Ball." And second, under the MLB logo, it has the word "Practice."

I also notice "China" stamped on the backside below the sweet spot -- I don't think game balls are made in China, and if they are, I don't think it's stamped on the balls.

Jeff

http://www.birdbats.com

[indyred]

Re: Green MLB practice balls ????

Was at my favorite park PNC on Monday night and my little one got a ball tossed to her from a Rockies player during BP and it was the official game ball. Any idea if most BP ballas are just one's that get tossed out from regular games. The one my kid has is in really nice shape, with just a little PNC dirt and grass stain on the side. I told her it might have been in an actual game. It was definitley a highlight for her getting the ball. We had to buy a ball cube case right away to put it in.

[Oil Can Dan]

Re: Green MLB practice balls ????

I can confirm that some, but not all, teams are using green batting practice balls. It seems that the driver behind this is that the balls are cheaper to produce, so some teams have chosen to use these as a cost-saving device. I know that the Oakland A's players complained about them as they're different than the regular balls and the A's actually changed back. I also know that the Red Sox have not chosen to go this route.

[earlywynnfan]

Re: Green MLB practice balls ????

Here's another picture of one, if anyone wants to see it.

Ken

http://cgi.ebay.com/Curtis-Granderson-autograph-Game-Used-Baseball_W0QQitemZ200011961456QQihZ010QQcategoryZ27260QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[gameused]

Re: Green MLB practice balls ????

Here's some photos from getty showing the green practice balls.

[eGameUsed]

Re: Green MLB practice balls ????

I have been meaning to put a picture of a Brandon Backe bat I got just after Spring Training. The green marks look horrible on the blonde bats.




Thanks,

[sfgiants452]

Re: Green MLB practice balls ????

I was in Pittsburgh last weekend and I got a total of nine baseballs 8 bp and 1 game used. Mine didn't have green ink, mine was a official baseball but on the sweet spot it had the word practice stamped in black ink. They also must be using different types of balls because when I was there, they gave mike stanton a ball and he looked at it and said "what is this" and he through it back in.

Anthony