And here is a video that @themagnuspi.bsky.social shared on the other site a few years ago...clearly the orientation changes. If you pay attention to replays, you see this happening quite often (I stopped counting)

Here is a simple experiement anyone can do. If you spin the ball fast enough, it will alway end up spinnin on the seam. The spin axis is still pointint upward, but the orientation has changed. I have seen hundreds of MLB replays where the ball does that midflight...