Asiad will be played with smaller, lighter ball

[KBO]

The official baseball for the upcoming Asian Games 2018 Jakarta Palembang will be the Brett Sports’ BR-100, a ball that is lighter and smaller than the ones that KBO players are used to handling.

The BR-100 weighs 142.74 grams (5.04 ounces), lighter than the 145.1-gram Skyline AAK-100 used in the KBO. The BR-100 has a circumference of 228.6 millimeters (9 inches), smaller than the 232.6-millimeter AAK-100. Although the difference may seem minimal, pitchers that train and play with KBO balls will definitely notice the change.

The KBO purchased some of the balls from the manufacturer to allow the players to better adjust. There are 12 balls that have been made available to KBO pitchers, while four have been sent to fielders.

Once the players are called up on August 18 they will officially start playing with the BR-100.

“Since it’s similar to the ball used in the Futures League, I expect the pitchers to adapt quickly,” said Sun Dong-yol, manager of the Korean team.

Korea’s first game will be against Taiwan on Aug. 26. The BR-100 is the official game ball in some of Taiwan’s amateur leagues.

BY PARK SO-YOUNG, JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]