The unique properties of baseball's famed "magic" mud have never been scientifically quantified—until now. In a paper in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Science (Penn Engineering) and School of Arts & Sciences (SAS) reveal what makes the magic mud so special.

For decades, all the balls used in Major League Baseball have been coated with mud harvested from a secret spot along a Delaware River tributary in New Jersey. Only a few people knew of the exact location and until recently,

It feels like sandpaper when you hold it, but then you can smear it like a cream.'

A special mud gets rubbed on every baseball before every MLB game to make them less slippery. A new study explains the science behind why it works.

Scientists unveil the long-mysterious qualities of baseball’s “magic” mud, which every MLB team uses on game balls. The unique properties of baseball’s famed “magic” mud have never been scientifically quantified — until now.