Illustration: Kevin Jeffers/The Colorado Sun

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Last month, on a day when the Colorado Rockies gave up eight home runs in a record-breaking loss amid a season of historic futility, I sat at my desk and held two baseballs in my hands.

Apart from some logos, they looked almost identical. Both weighed 5.1 ounces, within the official range for a ball. Both were made by Rawlings, the official manufacturer for Major League Baseball.

But there was one easily noticeable difference with my eyes closed. The ball in my left hand, which was used in a game last season at Coors Field, had flat seams that my fingers spilled over like water over river rock. The ball in my right hand, which was used in a college baseball game a dozen years ago, had raised seams, grippy like a mo

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