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SALT LAKE CITY — The Salt Lake Bees may still be a minor league franchise, but starting Tuesday you won’t know that if you’re lucky enough to snag a foul ball or a home run. That is, if you can spot the difference in baseballs this year from previous years.
All Triple-A teams, including the Bees, switched to major league baseballs over the offseason. The branding of the ball, though, still looks the same with Pacific Coast League logos.
“They look like the minor league baseballs that we’ve had — the PCL balls we’ve had before — but they’re made at the same factory that the major league balls are made in at the same time. They’re just stamped with a different logo,” said Kraig Williams, the Bees’ communications director. “I don’t know — unless you knew what you were looking for — if you could tell what the difference between the two are.
“It’ll be an interesting change,” he added. “We’ll see if anyone will notice.”
It’s worth noting that minor league teams would sometimes use major league balls in the past, but only when a major league player was on a rehab assignment.
Both the PCL and the International League agreed to the change to help farmhands adjust to what they’ll see at the major league level. Other Utah minor league teams like the Ogden Raptors or Orem Owlz in the Pioneer League won’t be affected by the baseball switch.
“Everything in Triple-A is preparing guys going to the next level. Anything we can do to replicate what they’re going to see when they get to Anaheim (California) is good,” Williams said. “Using the same baseballs is going to help the feel for the baseballs they’re going to touch at Angels Stadium or wherever they end up.”
Major league baseballs have smaller seems, higher leather quality and can carry farther than minor league baseballs, according to Baseball America, which first reported the change on Wednesday. The adjustment could mean more homers at Smith’s Ballpark — if baseballs aren’t affected by the humidor still in place to help deal with altitude.
I don’t know — unless you knew what you were looking for — if you could tell what the difference between the two are. ... It’ll be an interesting change. We’ll see if anyone will notice.
–Kraig Williams, Salt Lake Bees communications director
On the other hand, Bees pitching coach Pat Rice told Williams he believed the adjustment would allow pitchers to put more spin on each throw, which may give hurlers an advantage.
It can be difficult to spot the difference, but there is one noticeable difference: cost. The new baseballs are about double the cost of the previous minor league ball. That means the Bees are spending twice as much on baseballs this year than last season, which is one of the major costs of running a minor league team.
That’s another interesting aspect of the change. According to Baseball America, major league teams agreed to share the bill on the baseballs to help cover the new costs for minor league affiliates. Rawlings sells a dozen major league baseballs for $194 but are sold to teams at about $100 per dozen.
The Bees go through more than 100 balls each game, Williams said. He added that their season shipment of about 14,000 baseballs came late last month.
The Bees’ home opener is Tuesday against Fresno. With a new ball in play, anyone snagging a foul ball or a home run this season will come away with a pricier baseball than in years past.
“Their souvenir just went up in value a little bit,” Williams joked, “but I think the idea that catching a ball — I think it’s a priceless experience.”
