It is common for players to scuff them up. It's a pre-game ritual. He spit into his hands, then rubbed that in, too. And when it seemed sufficiently broken in, he stood up, tossed the ball from hand to hand a few times, then walked back into the Brewers' dugout.
Baseball is a game of rituals.
It requires initiation. And so, in the hours that preceded Friday's home opener, Miller Park was itself initiated, in ways both large and small. This isn't Little League. Milwaukee players formed two lines along the first-base line and began to play catch along the infield line, stepping deeper into the field with every toss. At 5 p.m., Cincinnati star Ken Griffey Jr. took his batting practice, his cap turned backward on his head.