Juiced baseballs.
keets
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In 2015, 4,909 home runs were hit across the league. That wasn’t an alarming number. However, in 2016, 5,610 homers were hit, which was then the second-highest total of all time, trailing only 5,693 in 2000. In 2017, 6,105 home runs were hit, vastly eclipsing 2000’s all-time record.
I have commented on this for a few years and apparently MLB is now checking it, as though they aren't aware of the changes to the outside and inside of the ball!!! It goes a long way to explain the surprising totals of guys like Judge and Stanton although it has most definitely affected EVERY hitter in some way, large or small. Those two gents would still be hitting HR's, but they probably wouldn't be traveling as far.
The report I read made mention of changes to the "outside and inside" of the ball. The most intriguing to me is that the stitching has been changed to reduce friction, helping the ball slide through the air easier. Thanks in advance for your comments.
Al H.
Comments
With the insane salaries and PEDs ruining the record books and a watered down HOF, MLB is in more trouble than the NFL
well, I don't think it's that bad and I don't think the salary problem is only confined to MLB, it is an entertainment-wide problem. the main reason I posted what I did and why it has been a sore spot with me should be obvious --- how can there be constant, regular changes to the single most important component of Baseball, the baseball itself??
after all the BS , confusion, and back door secrecy about deflategate I would expect you to understand that point. look at what happened when there was suspicion of tampering with the Footballs?? I got so confused that, to be honest, I don't even know how that resolved itself. the mere notion of balls being messed with pretty much caught the hair of every NFL fan on fire.
when it happens in the MLB with baseballs the League plays dumb and the fans ignore it if they even know about it.
I call it a tie.
As long as it's an equal playing field where everyone is using balls of the same specifications, I don't see any issue. Deflategate was about one team using equipment that was out of defined specifications, so I see no correlation. This is the league trying to keep eyeballs on the screens and butts in the stands by giving them more of the scoring and HR chases that people want.
<<< In 2015, 4,909 home runs were hit across the league. That wasn’t an alarming number. However, in 2016, 5,610 homers were hit, which was then the second-highest total of all time, trailing only 5,693 in 2000. In 2017, 6,105 home runs were hit, vastly eclipsing 2000’s all-time record. >>>
That's too much of an increase not to warrant investigating the baseball. I would have to believe that some sort of test can be made with the new baseball versus an older baseball to see if the "juiced baseball" premise is accurate.
I recall there was talk of juiced baseballs when McGwire, Sosa, and just about everyone else was hitting a huge amount of homers. Seems it was the players that were juiced, not the balls. Perhaps the players are finding ways to get the juice without being detected.
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Ralph
i think the last time the ball was suspect was around 2000-1.
Are we to believe the league has no control over the process of making baseballs? If the balls are juiced its because they wanted them that way. They were hoping no one would notice, now they will have to "investigate"
move along folks , nothing to see here
it's pretty disingenuous for MLB to say they "need to investigate" the balls to see what's up. that sort of like saying that the manufacturer just makes the balls however they choose. as you said, they make them the way MLB tells them to.
Not enough good pitchers and the ball parks are more hitter friendly. In Houston the dome was dumped and now our park is a hitters dream. People like higher scoring games and more home runs results in more viewer participation.
I rarely watch the game but those that do complain the home run or strike out element is tiring on the eyes.
I am a dinosaur that liked the two and a half hour games without the chicken dance and T-shirt cannons. 18-48 demographic ad audience calls the shots. If they like the game as is, fine with me.
Reduced stitching hurts pitchers breaking pitches.
Hanging curve ball.....kapow !!!!!!!!!
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What would ever possess you to be a season ticket holder? I could see football where you are talking 8 home games and 1 or 2 post season games but baseball? I would literally need to live within walking distance to Fenway park to imagine attending 80 odd games in 1 season. I can't imagine I even know enough people that I could give the extra tickets to . Do you sell a large percentage of them?
Bronco, the Indians offer a variety of packages that aren't the full schedule, things such as one game for each AL opponent. perhaps that's the kind of thing djr is talking about.
I didn't know that. It makes sense though. The only people I know with season tickets to anything are Denver Broncos fans. They own a real estate office and use tickets to woo potential clients . They have 6 or maybe 8 tickets and the partners in the office split evenly 4 regular season games each. They never need to sell any off. Its a decent amount of money they lay out , more than I would ever spend . I got to go as a token Pats fan a few times but the Patriots always lose at mile high so I gave up on it.
When I was a kid I went to a lot of Sox games , I lived closer in and had free time in the afternoons but bleacher seats were 3$ each then , not a huge investment even for a kid with no job.
I've thought about buying a package. heck, they're under $500 for some of them and it's only about a game a week through the summer.