{"id":122282,"date":"2024-11-05T09:20:52","date_gmt":"2024-11-05T02:20:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=122282"},"modified":"2024-11-05T09:20:52","modified_gmt":"2024-11-05T02:20:52","slug":"special-mud-rubbed-on-mlb-baseballs-has-magical-properties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=122282","title":{"rendered":"Special mud rubbed on MLB baseballs has &#8216;magical&#8217; properties"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"summary-box\" data-testid=\"summary-box\">\n<div class=\"summary-box__content\">\n<h2 class=\"summary-box__headline\">The Summary<\/h2>\n<ul class=\"summary-box__items\">\n<li>For years, a special mud has been rubbed on every baseball before every major league game to make it less slippery.<\/li>\n<li>The mud\u2019s story dates to the 1930s, and MLB still relies on one small supplier.<\/li>\n<li>A new study explains the science behind why it works: The mud has perfect proportions of clay and sand.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"\">For more than 80 years, baseball has relied on a stash of special mud to take the shine off balls\u2019 slick leather and give fielders a better grip. The substance is rubbed on every baseball before every major league game.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Called Lena Blackburne Baseball Rubbing Mud, it comes from a single source: a secret spot along the banks of a tributary of the Delaware River. Jim Bintliff, a retired New Jersey printing press operator, collects the mud about once a month from his grandfather\u2019s old fishing hole. He likens its consistency, after processing, to a \u201ccold cream or maybe a stiff pudding.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Despite the mud\u2019s ubiquity, no one had been able to explain the science behind why it makes balls easier to grip \u2014 or even provide empirical proof that it worked at all. Until now.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania designed a series of tests to study the mud and even constructed a synthetic rubber \u201cfinger\u201d to measure its characteristics. Their results, <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1073\/pnas.2413514121\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">published Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences<\/a>, offer the first published scientific evidence that the mud\u2019s power is more than myth.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">\u201cIt spreads like face cream, but it grips like sandpaper. It has this magical ability,\u201d said Doug Jerolmack, a geophysicist at the University of Pennsylvania and co-author of the study.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"styles_inlineImage__yAWZ0 styles_medium__OMa6x\"><picture class=\"styles_image__1qciH\" data-testid=\"picture\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1000px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/t_fit-560w,f_avif,q_auto:eco,dpr_2\/rockcms\/2024-11\/241101-baseball-comparison-ac-814p-ff6a94.jpg 2x, https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/t_fit-560w,f_auto,q_auto:best\/rockcms\/2024-11\/241101-baseball-comparison-ac-814p-ff6a94.jpg 1x\"\/><source media=\"(min-width: 320px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/t_fit-760w,f_avif,q_auto:eco,dpr_2\/rockcms\/2024-11\/241101-baseball-comparison-ac-814p-ff6a94.jpg 2x, https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/t_fit-760w,f_auto,q_auto:best\/rockcms\/2024-11\/241101-baseball-comparison-ac-814p-ff6a94.jpg 1x\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/t_fit-760w,f_auto,q_auto:best\/rockcms\/2024-11\/241101-baseball-comparison-ac-814p-ff6a94.jpg\" alt=\"baseball mud MLB\" height=\"1667\" width=\"2500\"\/><\/picture><figcaption class=\"caption styles_caption__Pe5JC\" data-testid=\"caption\"><span class=\"caption__container\" data-testid=\"caption__container\">The magic mud is applied to every ball used in Major League Baseball, including in this year\u2019s World Series.<\/span><span class=\"caption__source\" data-testid=\"caption__source\">Mark Griffey\/Penn Engineering<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"\">Jerolmack\u2019s team found that the mud has the perfect proportions of sticky clay and particles of sand. The latter studs the surface of a ball like barnacles to enhance friction, yet the material still spreads thin and even, like toothpaste.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">\u201cThe more you push on it, the more it flows,\u201d Jerolmack said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">The authors concluded that any attempt to create a synthetic substance to replace the mud \u2014 something Major League Baseball has explored \u2014 would be foolish.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">\u201cIt is a very special combination of ingredients that nature makes that make it work,\u201d Jerolmack said.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"\"\/>\n<p class=\"\">The mud\u2019s origin story is rooted in tragedy.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">In a game in August 1920, <a href=\"https:\/\/sabr.org\/journal\/article\/remembering-carl-mays\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">New York Yankees pitcher Carl Mays<\/a> fired a ball toward Cleveland shortstop Ray Chapman and hit him in the head. The ball <a href=\"https:\/\/sabr.org\/journal\/article\/remembering-carl-mays\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">struck Chapman\u2019s skull, killing him<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">The death raised concerns about wild pitches and the risk of fresh, shiny baseballs slipping from pitchers\u2019 hands. So in 1929, the president of the National League required umpires to start soiling balls for better grip, <a href=\"https:\/\/baseballhall.org\/discover\/lena-blackburne-rubbing-mud-a-secret-of-the-game\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">according to the Baseball Hall of Fame<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">But finding the right substance proved tough.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">\u201cThey tried to use infield dirt. That scratched the leather too much. They tried using shoe polish and tobacco spit; those things darkened the ball too much,\u201d Bintliff said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Finally, in 1938, Lena Blackburne, a third-base coach for the Philadelphia Athletics, remembered a fine filtered mud from his childhood in New Jersey. He went back to the source, collected it and began applying it.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"styles_inlineImage__yAWZ0 styles_medium__OMa6x styles_portrait__NRWbO\"><picture class=\"styles_image__1qciH\" data-testid=\"picture\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1000px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/t_fit-560w,f_avif,q_auto:eco,dpr_2\/rockcms\/2024-11\/241101-baseball-mud-historical-ac-829p-d34a84.jpg 2x, https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/t_fit-560w,f_auto,q_auto:best\/rockcms\/2024-11\/241101-baseball-mud-historical-ac-829p-d34a84.jpg 1x\"\/><source media=\"(min-width: 320px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/t_fit-760w,f_avif,q_auto:eco,dpr_2\/rockcms\/2024-11\/241101-baseball-mud-historical-ac-829p-d34a84.jpg 2x, https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/t_fit-760w,f_auto,q_auto:best\/rockcms\/2024-11\/241101-baseball-mud-historical-ac-829p-d34a84.jpg 1x\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/t_fit-760w,f_auto,q_auto:best\/rockcms\/2024-11\/241101-baseball-mud-historical-ac-829p-d34a84.jpg\" alt=\"baseball mud\" height=\"829\" width=\"560\"\/><\/picture><figcaption class=\"caption styles_caption__Pe5JC\" data-testid=\"caption\"><span class=\"caption__container\" data-testid=\"caption__container\">Burns Bintliff, a previous owner of Lena Blackburne Rubbing Mud, with a can of mud in an undated photo.<\/span><span class=\"caption__source\" data-testid=\"caption__source\">Lena Blackburne Rubbing Mud<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"\">The mud was so popular that Blackburne created a business of processing and selling it. Eventually, he passed the company to a childhood friend with whom he used to fish and swim, whose grandson, Bintliff, now runs the company with his wife.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Since 2022, MLB has mandated that at least 156 balls get prepared for every game, each getting at least <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcsports.com\/mlb\/news\/mlb-standardizing-ball-rubbing-and-removal-from-humidors\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a 30-second rub with the mud within a three-hour period<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Bintliff said MLB purchases tubs of mud for every team at $100 each \u2014 two for the regular season and more for spring training. Some clubs, like the World Series-winning Dodgers, purchase additional containers for their farm systems, he added.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">\u201cThis mud works as a superfine abrasive and takes the gloss coating off without doing any type of damage to the leather or laces,\u201d Bintliff said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">He collects the mud in 5-gallon buckets \u2014\u00a0usually around 10 to 20 buckets per visit to the riverbank \u2014 then processes it in his garage by draining the river water, removing twigs and stone and adding tap water. The process yields a rough average of 150 pounds of product.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Are any special ingredients added?\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">\u201cThat\u2019s the proprietary part,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<hr class=\"\"\/>\n<p class=\"\">The scientists who studied the mud aren\u2019t baseball die-hards, but they got interested after doing an informal analysis of the substance five years ago. After that, two students at Jerolmack\u2019s lab set off to prove whether or not the mud worked. They developed three key tests.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"styles_inlineImage__yAWZ0 styles_medium__OMa6x\"><picture class=\"styles_image__1qciH\" data-testid=\"picture\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1000px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/t_fit-560w,f_avif,q_auto:eco,dpr_2\/rockcms\/2024-11\/241101-baseball-mud-researchers-ac-816p-e32d13.jpg 2x, https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/t_fit-560w,f_auto,q_auto:best\/rockcms\/2024-11\/241101-baseball-mud-researchers-ac-816p-e32d13.jpg 1x\"\/><source media=\"(min-width: 320px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/t_fit-760w,f_avif,q_auto:eco,dpr_2\/rockcms\/2024-11\/241101-baseball-mud-researchers-ac-816p-e32d13.jpg 2x, https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/t_fit-760w,f_auto,q_auto:best\/rockcms\/2024-11\/241101-baseball-mud-researchers-ac-816p-e32d13.jpg 1x\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/t_fit-760w,f_auto,q_auto:best\/rockcms\/2024-11\/241101-baseball-mud-researchers-ac-816p-e32d13.jpg\" alt=\"baseball mud researchers\" height=\"1667\" width=\"2500\"\/><\/picture><figcaption class=\"caption styles_caption__Pe5JC\" data-testid=\"caption\"><span class=\"caption__container\" data-testid=\"caption__container\">From left, University of Pennsylvania researchers Shravan Pradeep, Doug Jerolmack, Paulo Arratia and Xiangyu Chen.<\/span><span class=\"caption__source\" data-testid=\"caption__source\">Felipe Macera\/Penn Engineering<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"\">First, they analyzed the mud\u2019s adherence, or stickiness, by using an atomic force microscope, which measures the mud\u2019s resisting force as an instrument pulls away from it. Then, to understand how well the mud flowed, the researchers placed some on a machine called a rheometer that spun the sample and measured its viscosity.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">The third test estimated the friction between human skin and a baseball; it involved constructing a \u201cfinger\u201d out of synthetic rubber, with a drop of whale oil substituting for the oils secreted by human skin. The \u201cfinger\u201d was pressed to strips of leather baseballs then spun on the rheometer.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"styles_inlineImage__yAWZ0 styles_medium__OMa6x\"><picture class=\"styles_image__1qciH\" data-testid=\"picture\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1000px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/t_fit-560w,f_avif,q_auto:eco,dpr_2\/rockcms\/2024-11\/241101-close-up-of-baseball-mud-machine-analyzer-ac-812p-8f8b22.jpg 2x, https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/t_fit-560w,f_auto,q_auto:best\/rockcms\/2024-11\/241101-close-up-of-baseball-mud-machine-analyzer-ac-812p-8f8b22.jpg 1x\"\/><source media=\"(min-width: 320px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/t_fit-760w,f_avif,q_auto:eco,dpr_2\/rockcms\/2024-11\/241101-close-up-of-baseball-mud-machine-analyzer-ac-812p-8f8b22.jpg 2x, https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/t_fit-760w,f_auto,q_auto:best\/rockcms\/2024-11\/241101-close-up-of-baseball-mud-machine-analyzer-ac-812p-8f8b22.jpg 1x\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/t_fit-760w,f_auto,q_auto:best\/rockcms\/2024-11\/241101-close-up-of-baseball-mud-machine-analyzer-ac-812p-8f8b22.jpg\" alt=\"baseball mud MLB research\" height=\"1667\" width=\"2500\"\/><\/picture><figcaption class=\"caption styles_caption__Pe5JC\" data-testid=\"caption\"><span class=\"caption__container\" data-testid=\"caption__container\">To test the properties of the magic mud, the group developed custom equipment.<\/span><span class=\"caption__source\" data-testid=\"caption__source\">Mark Griffey\/Penn Engineering<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"\">The properties those tests revealed are rare and sought after in cosmetics and other fields, according to Emanuela Del Gado, director of Georgetown University\u2019s Institute for Soft Matter Synthesis and Metrology.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">\u201cIn industry, people spend quite some time to adjust the formulation to obtain that type of property,\u201d said Del Gado, who was not involved in the research.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">\u201cSimple materials to us, can be extremely complex, and they can teach us a lot,\u201d she added, noting that the mud was shaped by currents, rainfall and long cycles of seasonal environmental changes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">These days, Bintliff counts among his clients college coaches, Little League umpires and National Football League teams. He plans to pass the business to one of his children.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">So far, the mud has survived new technology vying to replace it.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"\">In 2016, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlb.com\/news\/new-baseballs-experimented-with-in-fall-league-c208817804\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">MLB tested balls coated with a proprietary chemical<\/a>, and last year, Commissioner Rob Manfred said the league was working with Dow Chemical to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcsports.com\/news\/mlb-experimenting-with-pearl-white-baseballs-to-rid-sticky-stuff-problem\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">develop a \u201ctacky ball\u201d that would stay \u201cpure white.\u201d<\/a> But that project has not closed in on a solution that could replace the mud, an MLB source said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"endmark\">The study authors recommended against abandoning the mud, given their new evidence supporting what ballplayers intuited more than 80 years ago: \u201cThis stuff works,\u201d Jerolmack said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><div data-type=\"_mgwidget\" data-widget-id=\"1660802\">\r\n<\/div>\r\n<script>(function(w,q){w[q]=w[q]||[];w[q].push([\"_mgc.load\"])})(window,\"_mgq\");\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/science\/science-news\/why-baseball-mud-rubbed-on-balls-works-study-rcna178321\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Summary For years, a special mud has been rubbed on every baseball before every major league game to make it less slippery. The mud\u2019s story dates to the 1930s, &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=122282\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8628],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-122282","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-science","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122282","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=122282"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122282\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=122282"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=122282"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=122282"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}