“One is the Loneliest Number”

I read this seemingly innocuous little tidbit in the New York Times sports section yesterday morning.

But then I started thinking about

1. All the foul balls sent into the stands in any baseball game.
2. All the times I’ve seen pitchers ask for a new ball.
3. All the times I’ve seen an umpire throw a ball out of play.
4. All the home runs I’ve seen hit out of the park.

and it made me wonder:

Did they only HAVE one ball? 

If so, did they offer some kind of inducement for fans catching foul balls, er–THE foul ball–to “ante up” THE one game ball so that the game could continue? 

Just how dirty and beat-up did this one baseball get after nine innings of play?

And who got to KEEP this legendary baseball?  It seems that it should’ve been kept for historical purposes, no?

Just some random thoughts that I pondered yesterday…it beat ruminating on the reasons why the Mets seem to remain hell-bent on staying a .500 team.