Small Modification Results in Big Change

Did you know that during the month of April 2000, after a new baseball was introduced into the majors, 931 home runs were hit? Pitchers blamed the new ball claiming it was “juiced,” but according to the ball manufacturer it met all of the requirements. In fact, each ball is made by hand and subjected to 17 different tests. The ones that pass muster go to the majors while the others are sold retail. The manufacturer produced the tests which showed that all the balls met the specs. There was one change however, it turns out that the stitching height was lowered making it harder for pitchers to grip the ball. Although the ball met specs this inadvertently affected the pitchers ability to control the pitch allowing the batter an easy hit. It is interesting how a small engineering change can have dramatic results.