28/01/2021 2 Minute Read

CPBL reveals new official baseball for 2021 season

It features new designs from the inside out. Its coefficient of restitution (COR), seam height and surface printing are all different from previous seasons.

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) has revealed its new official baseball (pictured above) to be used in the 2021 season. The new baseball features a lower factor coefficient of restitution (COR) and a raised seam compared to the balls used in the 2020 season.

In the first half of the 2020 season, the league saw 2.73 home runs per game, surpassing its record of 2.51 -- 603 home runs in 240 games -- that stood since 2016. The league switched to a new batch of baseballs with lower COR factor in the second half and successfully lowered the homerun rate to 1.95 per game. The final average home run per game in 2020 was 2.34 (561 in 240 games). It is the second-highest in the league’s 31-year history.

For the 2021 season, the league is lowering its COR factor again to 0.550 from 0.560, recorded in the second half of the 2020 season. Simultaneously, the baseball seam was also raised to 0.07 inches from 0.05 inches in previous seasons to match with international standards.

The new CPBL official baseball also features new printing. For the first time since 2006, there's no Commissioner signing. The only lettering is “2021 CPBL Official Baseball”.

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CPBL Commissioner Chi-Chang Tsai commented: “When I was a fan, I didn’t really like to get a baseball with other people’s name stamped on it. So, let’s not do it this time.”

CPBL started to print the signature of the Commissioner in 2006 after sixth Commissioner Shou-Po Chao took office. Jenn-Tai Hwang (eighth Commissioner) and John Wu (who ran the ninth and tenth terms) had also their signature on the ball.

Each of the five clubs, including the expansion team Weichuan Dragons, will first receive 50 dozen of the new baseballs for pitching and fielding practice. The league will ship more baseballs later for batting practice purposes.

CPBL is an associate member of the WBSC and was the first professional baseball league to start the season and welcome back fans amid the COVID-19 pandemic.