Wet Baseballs

[mstaylor]

I was reading a back issue of Referee and in one of the side panels it mentioned keeping a towel in the dugout to keep balls dry. We started doing something several years ago that works better. We keep a plastic container of sta-dry or turfus. You roll the ball in it a few times and it's ready to go, simple and fast.

Edited November 28, 2008 by mstaylor
Bad typing

[Umpire in Chief]

I was reading a back issue of Referee and in one of the side panels it mentioned keeping a towel in the dugout to keep balls dry. We started doing something several years ago that works better. We keep a plastic container of sta-dry or turfus. You roll the ball in it a few times and it's ready to go, simple and fast.

Brilliant! This should be sent to all leagues everywhere to keep a small bucket of turface to dry off wet baseballs. Incredible idea.:)

[mstaylor]

I can't take credit for it, learned from my assigner, but I certainly do use it and try to pass it on whenever possible. That's like using witch hazel in hot weather. We mix a little in with ice water and apply to the head and neck between innings. It keeps the coolness on your skin longer. I can't really explain it but it does work.

[Umpire in Chief]

Now I can't speak about witch hazel, but I have become a fan of "Spirits of Ammonia" called a number of different things: Ammonia Water, Florida Water... I wrote a bit about that in my article, How to Beat the Heat and Dehydration.

Does witch hazel do the same?

[mstaylor]

Yes, I knew there was a mixture called Florida water from reading your post about it. I assume it is on the same lines. I learned it from an older umpire, hard for me at my age, but I certainly added it to my bag of tricks.

[Bigdog]

Hey all,

Back to the OP, I haven't used it, but I have heard of some people keeping some kitty litter in their ball bags. Supposedly works until the baseballs get really water logged.

Bigdog:cool:

[catoblue]

Our LL has kept a small bucket of turfus speedy-dry in the home dugout for several years now. We only get 2 game balls, so whenever one gets wet or goes out of play (gets really wet), it goes in the bucket and stays there until it is needed. It only very slightly discolors the ball, but get's it almost as dry as new quickly. This can mean the difference in suspending a game or not when there is a drizzle.

[Old Nr 24]

The discussion of wet baseballs and how to treat them brings to mind an amusing situation that had the potential for jail time. My partner and I were working a JUCO pre-season scrimmage between two local schools in the Baltimore area some years ago during a particularly wet spring. The field was damp and tacky when we started, so the home team manager approached my partner and me at the plate conference and produced a plastic bag about one-third full of a whitish powder. He handed it to us as two county policemen sat in their cruiser just outside the field area, there to watch the game. It was, of course, drying compound for the balls, but I had this sudden explosive vision of all of us being hauled to the klink in our uniforms and underoing extensive drug testing!

And as for that ammonia-water compound -- it does bring down body temperature, but take care. Use a very low concentration of ammonia and don't ever over-use the resultant compound! It will tend to dry out your skin, leave your pores wide open, and if you use too high a concentration of ammonia, can even cause fainting if you are over exposed! Ammonia-water compounds are normally reserved for bringing down a very high body temperature as quickly as possible, so if you were to use it for just being hot on a hot day you could wind up having some serious side effects. You might even want to try an alcohol-water mixture since that will also work, though I don't think Jack Daniels would qualify!