If you’ve ever wondered how many baseballs are used in an MLB game, you’re not alone.
Every year when the World Series takes place, it’s a frequently searched question on Google. Fans want to figure out why it seems like almost every pitch, a ball is getting thrown out and a new one is being brought in.
That remains true as the Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays meet in the 2026 edition of the Fall Classic.
Baseballs are being swapped out as frequently as ever, and it’s almost fascinating to watch. Did the ball hit the dirt? Bye. Was the ball put in play? Bye. Did the pitcher simply not like how a ball felt? Bye.
It seems like the only way the baseball stays is if the pitcher simply throws a pitch into the catcher’s glove and gets it thrown back to the mound.
Otherwise, yet another new baseball.
They call the sport baseball, but it’s really all about the baseballs, plural.
How Many Baseballs Are Used in an MLB Game?
There are more than 100 baseballs used in an average Major League Baseball game.
With all eyes on the World Series, there could even be more baseballs put into action. There are a lot of pitching changes and a lot of high-stakes moments. The last thing that the umpires are going to let happen is a questionable baseball staying in play for too long.
The Athletic did a study in 2022 that put the estimated range at between 96 and 120 baseballs used in a single game. That works out between 8 dozen and 10 dozen baseballs.
And the more baserunners, the more pitches thrown — the more baseballs will be used.
Some pitchers are pickier than others. Some pitchers throw the ball in the dirt more than others.
“If it hits the dirt, I’m throwing it out,” Guardians catcher Austin Hedges told The Athletic for that story in 2022.
What Happens to the Baseballs?
Those high-quality MLB pearls, as the new ones are called, can stay in the game for as little as a single pitch. They aren’t fully thrown out once they leave a game. They just aren’t used in a game again.
They can become batting practice baseballs, or bullpen baseballs, or fielding baseballs.
They could also be passed along outside the organization to a team or league that could need some baseballs of their own.
The baseballs rarely are ruined after their short stints in an MLB game. They just have served their first purpose, and now they’re sent along on their way to find a new one, even if they’re leaving with the smallest mark proving that they had ever gotten into a major league game in the first place.
So Many Baseballs Are Used in an MLB Game for the World Series