Balls

[frankbmd]

Mentioned before here, but routinely discarding any ball that hits the dirt around home plate without even looking at it has become the norm. However a ball grounded to the infield and then thrown to first still gets tossed around the horn and then back to the pitcher. Why isn't this ball discarded as well?

With more pitchers seemingly spiking curve balls than in the past, frequently 3 or 4 ball changes in a single at bat can certainly happen. Therefore how many balls are required to complete a game? If I am not mistaken the number of balls required to be on hand for a game back in the day (I won't say which day) was 60. Today 60 might not last three innings.

I also wonder if the discarded balls are examined and are recycled to re-enter the game if they look "good". But if this is true, who is the ball checker? Home plate umpires used to look at questionable balls, but now they just get tossed without a glance.

Feel free to comment, answer a question or express your own musings about balls in today's game.