Skip to content
MarketScale
‹ Back to IndustriesSports & Entertainment

Diving Into Data: Did Major League Baseball Swap the Baseballs for the Postseason?

Did Major League Baseball switch out the baseballs being used between the regular season and postseason? A number of baseball fans, stats enthusiasts, and even the St. Louis Cardinals believe the answer to that question is yes. Data guru TC Riley examined the evidence and found a compelling case to be made that a…

This story was produced through MarketScale. See how Sports & Entertainment teams put it to work with Events & Onsite Capture.

Share
Diving Into Data: Did Major League Baseball Swap the Baseballs for the Postseason?

Get featured

Want to get featured in MarketScale Sports & Entertainment?

Create a free MarketScale workspace and get your company's expertise featured across our Sports & Entertainment coverage. No credit card, no demo required.

Request an invite

Did Major League Baseball switch out the baseballs being used between the regular season and postseason?

A number of baseball fans, stats enthusiasts, and even the St. Louis Cardinals believe the answer to that question is yes.

Data guru TC Riley examined the evidence and found a compelling case to be made that a different ball is being used. Hear his findings and more on this excerpt from Diving Into Data.

Your experts belong here

Every story in MarketScale Sports & Entertainment starts with a company putting its venue operators, production crews, and partnership teams on the record. Buyers are already reading this topic. The only question is whose experts they find.

Rights holders and partners back the operators they know, and coverage is how they get to know yours.

Get your team featuredSee how it works15 minutes, straight to a calendar.

Follow Sports & Entertainment Insights

Get new expert content in your inbox.

Sports & Entertainment: are you visible to AI?

Before they reach out, Sports & Entertainment buyers ask AI engines which vendors to trust. See how AI describes your company today, and where competitors show up instead.

Free workspace

You just read one Sports & Entertainment expert. Your company is full of them.

This article was produced through MarketScale. The same platform turns your venue operators, production crews, and partnership teams into the articles, video, and social content Sports & Entertainment buyers are searching for. Create a free workspace and see it with your own people. No credit card, no demo required.

NPS +73 · 1,000+ creators · 38+ countries

What you get, free

Your own MarketScale Studio workspace
One video edit a month, on us
AI writing, editing, and publishing tools
In-platform coaching to learn the system

More Sports & Entertainment Insights

Snow League’s NBC, Peacock and YouTube plan makes Season Two a production workflow test

The Snow League and NBC Sports expanded their U.S. media rights agreement for Season Two, adding additional NBC windows, more than 50 hours of live Peacock coverage, and live simulcasts on The Snow League’s YouTube channel, according to Sports Video Group. The league said Season One reached 8.1 million viewers across five NBC broadcasts, putting more pressure on consistent execution across broadcast television, subscription streaming, and open platforms. SportBusiness previously reported the league raised $15 million to enhance event production and grow media properties, while Variety’s original 2024 rights announcement said the first-season prize purse would exceed $1.5 million and Sports Video Group later reported it as $2.2 million. For operations leaders in sports media and venue production, the practical takeaway is that Season Two will send one event feed into three distribution paths with different ad, rights, and measurement requirements.

  • 01A single live event is now expected to ship cleanly to broadcast (NBC), SVOD (Peacock), and free AVOD (YouTube) at the same time. That forces early decisions on master-control design, redundancy, and who owns the “truth” feed.
  • 02The best benchmark in the announcement is scheduling volume, not hype: Peacock’s live coverage grows to “over 50 hours” in Season Two (Sports Video Group), a workload jump that changes staffing models for graphics, clipping, and compliance.
  • 03Variety reported ahead of Season One that the prize purse would exceed $1.5 million, and Sports Video Group later reported Season One’s purse at $2.2 million. For sponsors and distributors, that contrast underscores the difference between early projections and what is reported after the season.

Sep 2, 2026

Turf equipment makers are selling less downtime

Turf equipment makers are selling less downtime

Turf Magazine’s 2027 Equipment Forecast, published Aug. 25, 2026, shows major turf equipment suppliers steering product roadmaps toward reduced maintenance time, easier operation, telematics, and automation, with input from Segway Navimow, Gravely, Bobcat, John Deere, Milwaukee Tool, and Toro. In parallel, Golf Course Trades is pushing turf managers to pair root-zone soil measurements with hyperlocal weather signals like evapotranspiration and growing degree days, using tools such as POGO sensors, the POGO Weather Pro+, and the TurfPro platform. Taken together, the operational change is that equipment purchases are increasingly being justified and tuned against measurable turf conditions, not just cut quality or horsepower, which raises the bar for data capture, zone mapping, and decision workflows across golf and sports turf properties.

  • 01The practical benchmark is no longer “does it cut,” it’s “can the crew prove it needed that water or that pass,” which is why soil moisture, EC, and ET are getting pulled into day-to-day maintenance decisions (per Golf Course Trades).
  • 02Manufacturers’ 2027 messaging is converging on the ownership experience, less downtime, simpler controls, multi-task capability, and more fleet visibility, which pulls procurement into software, batteries, and service commitments, not just iron (per Turf Magazine).
  • 03For facilities with strong seasonality, like Farm Neck Golf Club’s peak summer versus shoulder months pricing and demand, data-backed maintenance plans can support a wider operating window and more predictable playing conditions when revenue mix shifts (per Golf Course Trades).

Sep 2, 2026

SBJ Tech: Timberwolves’ reported “$5M-plus” ticket-revenue gain puts tech ROI under the microscope

SBJ Tech: Timberwolves’ reported “$5M-plus” ticket-revenue gain puts tech ROI under the microscope

Sports Business Journal’s SBJ Tech newsletter reported that the Minnesota Timberwolves saw a “$5M-plus” increase in ticket revenue. SBJ Tech also described teams and partners treating technology as a way to support revenue and operations, including EA Sports working with Texas on a branded “College Football Ultimate Tailgate” event ahead of a marquee game. Athletic Business reported that Next League co-founder David Nugent said “billions” are going into venues and outlined an operating reality in which tech stacks span media distribution, marketing systems and sports-ops tools, pushing teams toward an outcomes-first approach to vendor selection. SportBusiness argued that consistent PR and conference planning have become part of the go-to-market infrastructure for sports tech and venue suppliers, shaping how quickly products get shortlisted and adopted.

  • 01Minnesota Timberwolves achieved $5M-plus ticket revenue increase, offering finance teams a tangible reference point for justifying tech investments beyond soft metrics like app downloads.
  • 02Sports properties now require tech stacks spanning ticketing, identity systems, connectivity, CRM, and data capture—thousands of specialized vendors rather than one platform—making integration capacity the scarce resource.
  • 03Vendor credibility and public case studies increasingly influence procurement timelines; teams shortlist suppliers with clear narratives and media presence faster through stakeholder reviews.

Sep 2, 2026

Explore More Sports & Entertainment Insights

Read more expert perspectives from across Sports & Entertainment.

Browse Sports & Entertainment Hub

For B2B teams

Your experts could be publishing here

Stories like this one run on content MarketScale captures from real practitioners. See how your team's expertise becomes coverage in Sports & Entertainment and beyond.

Book a 15-minute demo

Or call us. No forms required. We pick up. 214-945-2512