About Geoff Expertise Huge baseball trivia lover! I will attempt to answer anything you can think of when it comes to major league baseball. I have a large reference library of all things baseball. Try to stump me!
I was just wondering why a first baseman will toss the ball that he had just caught into the stands as he is approaching the dugout (at the end of an inning) only to have someone from the dugout toss him another? I realize that after his team bats and returns to the field he is charged with bringing out the warm-up ball and this way if one of his teammates needed to bring his glove to him then there would already be a ball, but why not rotate and use a "newer" ball rather than one that has been tossed between fielders for a couple of innings? Is this a superstition or just a habit that begins in the minors? Just curious. Thanks.
Answer Hi Frank,
Thanks for writing.
Much of what is done during a baseball game is superstition, but tossing the ball into the stands (of course, the 1st baseman only does this if the inning ends with him making a put-out at first) and then getting a new one almost makes sense!
Kids behind the dugout constantly nag the players for baseballs. If they "know" they'll get one if the inning ends with the 1st baseman getting a putout they nag less. The "new" (it's probably used) ball flipped to the 1st baseman is to use to warm-up the infield before the next inning.
Here's a link to a Seattle Mariners' article about it:
