You can see that its a cut/patch from a baseball. Upper Deck to stick with the design concept had to put the red stiching exactly where it is.
The problem is that the ball/patch wasn't signed dead-on sweet spot, so it looks like
.
Just another head shaker form UD
I would of rather had the baseball for my players born on Nebraska collection. The Cheif was born just up the road a piece in Beemer.