This column is about "the ball," but it is not what you think.

It is not another rehash of the Japanese baseball being changed in 2011, resulting in fewer home runs and lower batting and earned run averages. Rather, it is about the ball in general and how its use has changed dramatically in Japan and the major leagues.

Flash back 50 years or so. For every major league game, 60 balls were prepared. Five dozen baseballs were rubbed up with a special mud from the Delaware River and readied for service during the MLB contests. Today, about twice as many balls are used in Japanese games.