Sri Lankan-manufactured Olympic baseballs knock it out of the park

Sujeewa Wijenayake with a Sri Lankan-manufactured SSK baseball

By Shehan Daniel

A close examination of the baseballs used at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics will reveal four words that would likely draw a smile from any Sri Lankan.

The white ball with red lacing carries the logo of Japanese sports goods manufacturer SSK Corporation but also with it the words “Made in Sri Lanka.”

The baseballs are manufactured by a Sri Lankan company named Skyline Baseballs Pvt. Ltd, a subsidiary of SSK, and could even be on its way to the big leagues, if Major League Baseball (MLB) listens to one of its young prospects.

Joe Ryan is a 25-year-old right-arm pitcher for the Minnesota Twins franchise of sports’ second most lucrative league and was a part of the United States’ Silver medal winning team at Tokyo 2020.

“Since we got back from the qualifier, I brought as many as I could back and showed everyone. It is the best ball in the world,” Ryan was quoted as saying by foreign media, during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic games.

“They need this ball over America. It is amazing. It’s perfect. And the hitters love it. I love throwing with it. All the pitchers love throwing with it. SSK did an outstanding job creating this. So we need this ball. I think it would solve a lot of the current issues that with foreign substances that people like to talk about. It is, I can’t say enough, the best baseball I’ve ever touched.”

The substance abuse that Ryan is talking about is not the kind involving athletes using recreational drugs or alcohol, but of baseball pitchers in the MLB using foreign substances, such as resin, pine tar, and sunscreen, to get a better grip of the Rawlings-manufactured ball it currently uses. So widespread and surreptitious is the use of those substance, that the MLB has begun policing pitchers, who face up to 10 games suspended if found to be using these foreign substances.

“This ball is consistent. You don’t need any substances whatsoever… it’s amazing. It fits in your hand a little bit easier. It has some seams, so you can get some grip there. Again, I think it works for both parties. The hitters — I haven’t heard anything from the hitters. I’ve asked about seeing a difference in the flight characteristics, but it seems to be the same. It’s packaged in a nice little wrapper, and it’s got the tack that they put on before, so when you open that thing up it’s ready to rock and roll,” Ryan was also quoted as saying.

Sujeewa Wijenayake, a Sri Lanka and Japan registered referee who is Technical Operations Manager for Baseball and Softball for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympic Games, has played a leading role in promoting baseball in Sri Lanka and he explained that this was not the first time this particular baseball has been used in an international tournament.

“These baseballs were used during the Under 18 World Cup in Korea, and the year before, they were utilized in the Under 23 baseball World Championships. The International Olympic Committee and Japanese Olympic Committee have done a thorough quality check of these baseballs and it’s because there were no issues with the ball that they were used at the Olympics,” Wijenayake also said.

With 15000 baseballs supplied for the Tokyo 2020 games, Wijenayake believes  that this could be the opening for bigger and better things for these Sri Lanka-produced baseballs.

“If players in the MLB who have been in the Olympics have spoken highly of these baseballs, maybe in the future we might see these Sri Lankan manufactured products getting bigger contracts, not just for baseballs but also equipment for other sports.”