PREDICTABLE WIFFLING?:

The Real Man's Wiffle Ball (JOEL LOVELL, 12/14/03, NY Times Magazine)

One day about eight years ago, a former minor-league pitcher named Chris Mackie had a vision of a ''plastic ball that played like a real baseball,'' one that, unlike a Wiffle ball, wouldn't curve all willy-nilly when thrown or be irreparably dented the first time a batter made contact. So Mackie started tinkering, and after several tries, he came up with the Quickball, a plastic sphere that is a half-inch smaller in diameter than a Wiffle ball but twice as thick. Whereas the Wiffle has elongated holes on only one hemisphere (and therefore unpredictably rises or dips or curves), the Quickball has holes on both sides, arranged symmetrically for balanced air flow, and raised seams that allow for control over a variety of pitches.

The Times Magazine has their Third Annual Year in Ideas issue this week. But here's far and away the best idea of 2003.

Posted by Orrin Judd at December 13, 2003 8:43 AM