Oakland A’s Charlie Finley and the Orange Baseballs

Former Oakland A’s owner Charlie Finley was known for his bizarre ideas, such as having a permanent pinch runner and his insistence on A’s players having moustaches. Today, 43 years ago, another one of his attempts to improve the game was given a chance.

Charlie Finley was a number of things during his tenure as the owner of the Oakland A’s. He could be labelled as a visionary, as he was one of the first owners to build a team through the draft. He could also be considered somewhat insane, as he insisted on the A’s carrying a pinch runner and his attempts to put Mike Andrews on the disabled list during the 1973 World Series after Andrews committed two errors in Game Two.

Nonetheless, Finley was quite the visionary and showman. The circus atmosphere surrounding his team was intended to give the fans a better experience, as was one of his more revolutionary, and controversial, ideas. Finley, in his attempts to improve the game, wanted an orange baseball, based on the idea that both the fans and players would be able to see the ball better.

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In theory, this idea should have worked. As baseballs were used throughout the game, they became harder to see, particularly when playing indoors or during the time around dusk, due to the buildup of mud, tobacco juice and other assorted items getting on the surface. A bright orange baseball, on the other hand, would be a lot easier to see, even after being used.

Unfortunately, the baseballs did not work as Finley expected. Pitchers complained about the grip on the ball, and the red laces against the orange background made it difficult for batters to determine the type of pitches that were coming. This experiment was called off, despite Finley’s hopes to have them used during the regular season.

The sad thing is, this experiment could have worked. The orange baseballs were a good idea. However, Finley forgot to take the lacing on the balls into account. Perhaps if he had those balls made with white laces, or black, the difference between the laces and the ball itself would have been enough for batters to pick up the spin on the balls. The grip may well have improved when the balls were broken in, and through improved production had more been ordered.

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Charlie Finley had a number of interesting ideas during his time as the owner of the Oakland A’s, but the orange baseballs may have topped them all. Sadly enough, they actually could have worked aside from one small detail.