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Original Article Posted July 14, 2010

We’ve come across plenty of unusual Official Major League Baseballs recently, and this entry to the collection is no exception. Presented below is a multi-color laced (red and blue) Spalding American League Baseball – not Reach – bearing the stamped signature of Joseph Cronin.

What’s even more perplexing is the text around the Spalding stamp. “The 5x Center,” what in the world does that mean?

Spalding American League Cronin Ball with multi-colored laces and "The 5X Center" Stamp

Reverse side of the Spalding American League Cronin 5X Ball

Could this have been a prototype baseball, or even an actual gamer? It certainly shows game use, and it did come from the estate of late Boston Red Sox executive vice president Dick O’Connell, who served in that role for the organization from 1961-1977. He also was the Sox general manager from ’65 – ’77, or so Wikipedia tells us. So there’s plenty of evidence that suggests these baseballs were at least on the field at some point during the late ’60s to early ’70s.

But it’s still likely that these 5X balls were nothing more than a failed experiment. Perhaps tested in spring training or batting practice. Or maybe they were a success? Any changes made to the design of the ball, such as the rubber pill at its core, could have taken place the following year, and would have never effected the outside of the game ball…

As far as these specific balls being used in Official MLB games, that’s still doubtful. Cronin was president of the AL from 1959-1973. Certainly well outside of the red and blue stitched Reach American League Baseball era – which included baseballs like this 1930s Harridge Reach example pictured on the right.

Additionally, lone Spalding stamps did not appear on American League baseballs until the 1975 season, which falls within the Lee MacPhail AL presidency. Though it’s possible that Spalding stamped their experimental baseballs with the regular NL and corporate Spalding stamp well before the Reach label was abandoned; the Spalding Orange Baseballs featured in this Big League Baseballs exclusive Charles O. Finley article are another example.

Spalding Feeney National League Baseball Yellow Laced 5X Center

There is no information about “The 5X Center” available on the web, and we don’t own a library card. So as usual we’re forced to speculate about these rare and very special baseballs.

One thing is for sure, we’ve only seen two of these, both used, and we’ve also seen the 5X Spalding stamp on a Charles Feeney National League ball (pictured on the left), which sold on Ebay several years ago for a nice chunk of change. Wish we were willing to splurge back then.

So if you have any information about these baseballs, feel free to post on the Big League Baseballs Forum or leave a comment in the section below (either way, you’ll need to sign up on the main site or in the Forum).

In the coming weeks, we’ll delve deep into the history of Official Game Balls, and take a look at the very first versions of Major League’s Official Game Ball. We’ll also be offering our loyal readers and forum members the chance to purchase a few extremely rare, impossible to find Official Game Baseballs from… 2010.

UPDATED INFORMATION:

A member of Big League Baseballs Forum sent us the following picture of another 5X Spalding Major League Baseball. This is the second Feeney version we’ve seen, the first is the gold-laced ball picture above. This, like our AL Cronin, has red and blue laces, and is clearly used. Most interesting is the description that came with the ball – originally sold by the Cincinnati Reds team store:

1972 Spalding National League Feeney Red Blue Laced

“Super Scarce Rare 1972 Official Major League “CHARLES FEENEY” Baseball that is still contained in its original packaging bag from the Cincinnati Reds. This genuine National League Baseball was obtained at the Reds Gift Shop in 1972. According to the Cincinnati Reds COA it reads “This to certify that the enclosed 5-X Experimental Baseball is one of a small number produced in 1972 for Major League Baseball. This Baseball, however, was found to be to lively & exceeded maximum velocity restrictions. It’s manufacture was discontinued. This is one of twelve 5-X Baseball being made available to collectors.” This Baseball has multi-colored stitching.”

Forgot to add this post, from the forum Net54Baseball (a great vintage baseball card collectors site with an equally informative baseball memorabilia forum section):

From poster “sphere and ash”: The 5x baseball, so called because it was 5% livelier, was an experimental baseball. It was used during spring training in 1970 and discontinued because of concerns over the safety of both players and fans. Cronin, whose stamp appears on the ball, referred to the 5x derisively as Bowie Kuhn’s “little experiment,” and said, “I’ve seen enough of it. It should be outlawed.”

I own both American and National League 5x balls. The National League ball’s stitches are one color, though lighter than typical. Red and blue stitches would let players and umpires identify the ball immediately–an important design element given potential safety concerns.

So that should help end some of the speculation as the use of these baseballs. We’ve heard similar explanations before, so I’m comfortable saying all of these versions were experimental and used for testing. We’ve also heard that some may have been tested in spring training games.