Question

read the passage.
the baseballs history
the modern baseball has come a long way from early baseballs. in the 1840s and 1850s, pitchers often made their own balls by hand. one of the most popular balls of the time was known as the \lemon peel\ ball. the lemon peel ball was composed of a single piece of leather wrapped around a core with four lines of stitching. todays major league baseball must measure between 9 and 9.25 inches and weigh between 5 and 5.25 ounces. however, there were no standards for lemon peel balls, which were generally smaller and lighter than todays balls. while todays official ball must be white and stitched with waxed red thread, the lemon peel ball was often a dark brown leather and had a variety of stitching colors.
what is the main, or central, idea of the passage?
the lemon peel baseball was made of one piece of leather with four lines of stitching.
the lemon peel ball was one of the most popular early baseballs.
today’s baseball is quite different from early balls such as the lemon peel.

Explanation:

The passage starts by stating modern baseball has evolved from early ones. It then compares the lemon peel ball (early) with today's Major League baseball in terms of size, weight, color, and stitching. The first option is a detail about the lemon peel ball. The second is also a detail about its popularity. The third option captures the overall comparison between modern and early (lemon peel) baseballs, which is the main idea.

Answer:

Today’s baseball is quite different from early balls such as the lemon peel.