Curious Louis answers: What happens to all those used baseballs at Busch Stadium?

Editor's note: This story was originally published Aug. 22, 2018.

What happens to all those used baseballs the umpires toss out of games at Busch Stadium?

After Keith Duncan of St. Louis submitted that question to our Curious Louis feature, we went to the Aug. 16 game between the Cardinals and Washington Nationals to find out.

That’s where we found Ralph Toenjes hard at work, happily greeting fans at the Authentics Shop, located behind center field. Toenjes sells memorabilia, including used baseballs, fresh from the field. During games, it’s his job to fetch baseballs from the Cardinals dugout every two or three innings.

“That's really a cool part of my job,’’ Toenjes said. “I get to be right there where the players are in the dugout, and sometimes I have to wait for the inning to end, which means I'm right there by the action.’’

The playing career of a baseball is brief. A fair share end up in the stands. Umpires discard dozens of others after they’ve been dinged by a bat or bounced in the dirt. The Cardinals prepare 120 baseballs for every game. On an average game day, between 40 and 60 used baseballs will end up in the Authentics Shop.

https://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/curious-louis-answers-what-happens-all-those-used-baseballs-busch-stadium