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This may be an Orioles only thing, but I think I've seen it elsewhere.

Between innings, as the Orioles First Baseman (currently Chris Davis) runs off the field, someone from the dugout throws him a ball. It may be coming from somewhere else, because on TV the camera stays focused on him, and you can't see who throws it. I'm pretty sure it's the dugout though.

This has been happening for long enough - and consistently enough - that I'm sure it's a tradition or has some purpose.

Does anyone know what this is?

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This is a common practice among all teams besides the Orioles. The ball is thrown to the first baseman so that he can then keep the ball in his glove and use it for the infield warm-up when the team goes back on defense.

The practicality behind doing it as the first baseman comes off the field is so that he doesn't have to rummage about the dugout looking for a ball or forget to go back out with one--especially if he is hitting during that inning. A batboy, coach, backup player, or whoever (varies by team) gets it to them right away while they still have their glove on and that's the end of it. I'd say that it wouldn't be a huge deal if this wasn't done or was done differently, so it's safe to say that tradition and sticking to a routine have some role in the practice, too.

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    Complete speculation but I'll bet that some first baseman many years ago had a bad habit of going back out to the field for warm ups without a ball, had to always turn and yell to the dugout and then wait for one. Whoever it was that always had to get the ball to throw it to them finally had enough and started doing this.
    – Dr.DrfbagIII
    Apr 8, 2016 at 15:34

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