[M T]

While I appreciate the clean look of a white baseball, is there any particular advantage of that color over, say, the orange used in safety vests?  (Consider the yellow softball.)

Obviously, you don't change a tradition over one lost ball, but at some point it could be considered. 

Another alternative would be to design a device to track the ball and illuminate it with a laser or other strong light  But then you have the problem of when the laser is turned on and when it is turned off.

I don't recall seeing an announcement about the different field light design at Stanford, but I understand why they would be used.   I noticed how different they looked, but I don't know how different they make the ball look. Baseball field lights do seem to be an egregious source of light pollution.  Stanford has quite a few outdoor facilities that are lit at night.

Food for thought:
Light pollution: A review of the scientific literature
11 Pressing Research Questions on How Light Pollution Affects Biodiversity


When I looked for laws, nothing jumped out. (A bill to control lighting on state buildings was vetoed by the governor in the last year.)  One site's list of of local light pollution laws shows none applicable.

[M T]

While I appreciate the clean look of a white baseball, is there any particular advantage of that color over, say, the orange used in safety vests?  (Consider the yellow softball.)

Obviously, you don't change a tradition over one lost ball, but at some point it could be considered. 

Another alternative would be to design a device to track the ball and illuminate it with a laser or other strong light  But then you have the problem of when the laser is turned on and when it is turned off.

I don't recall seeing an announcement about the different field light design at Stanford, but I understand why they would be used.   I noticed how different they looked, but I don't know how different they make the ball look. Baseball field lights do seem to be an egregious source of light pollution.  Stanford has quite a few outdoor facilities that are lit at night.

Food for thought:
Light pollution: A review of the scientific literature
11 Pressing Research Questions on How Light Pollution Affects Biodiversity


When I looked for laws, nothing jumped out. (A bill to control lighting on state buildings was vetoed by the governor in the last year.)  One site's list of of local light pollution laws shows none applicable.