How long is the twine inside an official major league baseball?

Answer 1

According to the Roanoke College C&E News Summary of March 29, 1999:

"Who has ever seriously considered what goes in to making baseballs? To Rawlings, this knowledge is excrutiatingly important. Today, instructiouns call for a cork nucleus that weighs exactly 0.5 oz and is 2.86 to 2.94 inches in diameter. It is to be incased in two thin rubber layers - one black, one red - and weigh a total of 7/8 oz. This nucleus is then machine-wound under high, consistent tension with 121 yards of four-ply blue-gray wool, 45 yards of three-ply white wool yarn, 53 more yards of three-ply blue-gray wool yarn and 150 yards of fine white polyester-cotton blend yarn. THis is coated with rubber cement before the cover is put on. The cover consistes of two pieces of elongated figure-eight-shaped white cowhide, dampened to permit strething, which is then handstiched together with 216 raised stitches, using 88 inches of red cotton thread. Finally, the ball is rolled for 15 seconds while still slightly damp so the seams are even and reasonable flat.

At this point, the balls are still not ready for the big league. Balls are selected at random from each shipment and shot from an air cannon at 85 feet per second at a wall made of northern white ash (the wood used to make bats). Each tested ball must bounce back at between 0.514 and 0.578 of its original speed to be suitably lively for Major League Baseball."