Major League Baseball and Rawlings will introduce newly designed official baseballs for the 2000 season, it was announced today at the SGMA Super Show in Atlanta, Georgia.
The new baseballs, which will be used throughout the 2000 Championship Season, will feature the trademarked MLB Silhouetted Batter logo and the signature of Baseball Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig stamped in blue ink. The redesigned baseballs are part of Major League Baseball’s branding strategy to use the Silhouetted Batter logo on all authentic, on-field equipment and apparel that is available for retail purchase. To mark the change, Major League Baseball will issue a special Millennium Opening Day Baseball, which will be used at the home openers of each team except the Chicago Cubs and New York Mets, who will use a special baseball to commemorate the Opening Series 2000 in Tokyo, Japan, on March 29 and 30. The Millennium Opening Day Baseball will be similar to the regular season ball, but will have “2000” embellished in silver ink above the Silhouetted Batter logo. “The newly designed regular season baseballs and the 16 special event baseballs are great collectibles and another way to bring our fans closer to the game,” said Tim Brosnan, Senior Vice President, Major League Baseball. “In addition, the new design of the regular season baseballs will help us continue to promote the Silhouetted Batter logo as a symbol of authentic Major League Baseball merchandise.”
In addition to the redesigned regular season baseball and the Millennium Opening Day Ball, Major League Baseball will introduce 15 other special baseballs throughout the 2000 season to highlight such events as the 4th of July, the All-Star Home Run Derby, the All-Star Game and the World Series.
In the past, special event baseballs used by Major League Baseball were made available primarily to the clubs and players. All of the special event baseballs manufactured for use in 2000 will be available in retail with release dates throughout the 2000 season. Fans and collectors will be able to obtain the new baseballs at any authorized Major League Baseball retailer or on majorleaguebaseball.com. The baseballs will be sold separately and will also be available as a packaged set. The physical makeup of the official Major League Baseball game ball (not less than five ounces nor more than 5 ¼ ounces; not less than nine nor more than 9 ¼ inches in circumference) will not be affected by the redesign. “Major League Baseball’s official baseball has undergone very little change since the early days of the game,” said Steve O’Hara, President, Rawlings. “We have served as the official supplier since 1977 and expect to deliver more than one million balls to major league clubs each year.”