bobbyjohn wrote:
In recent memory, MLB now discards a ball when it has hit the dirt just ONE time. How wasteful! So when a pitcher pitches a ball that's a ground hopper to the catcher, the ball gets discarded. Used to be I recall that they did that only for the World Series. Now, it's every day. I like the old days, when a ball stayed in play over the course of several innings, regardless of being clean or dirty, except of course when it's been hit into the stands!
I was told by a ball player that if a ball has a dirt smudge or other marking the batter can tell which way it's spinning and adjust his swing accordingly.