[jasonkester]

The average lifespan of a baseball is something like 1.7 pitches. They bring hundreds of them to a game.

Pitchers go out of their way to mangle the balls in specific ways before they throw them, so even the ones that last a few tosses are in rough shape. You'll often see a pitcher simply throw a ball back to the catcher to have it replaced.

The math, by the way, is something like 10k fans @ $50/seat vs. 120 baseballs @ $0.75 wholesale. If there's any chance whatsoever that giving one to a kid in the stands will make him happy enough to come back for another game at any point in his life, it's well worth it.

[robryan]

Ah that's what I was wondering, how cheap a baseball they use at that level goes for. Had a feeling that it must not have been much.

[jasonkester]

Actually, I'm probably wrong above in saying that they cost the ballpark anything at all. I suspect the manufacturer pays Major League Baseball a lot of money every year for the privilege of supplying those balls.