Report: MLB slightly deadening baseball amid years-long home run surge

[BleedGopher]

per the AP:


Major League Baseball has slightly deadened its baseballs amid a years-long surge in home runs, a source confirmed to The Associated Press on Monday.

MLB anticipates the changes will be subtle, and a memo to teams last week cites an independent lab that found the new balls will fly 1 to 2 feet shorter on balls hit over 375 feet. Five more teams also plan to add humidors to their stadiums, meaning 10 of MLB's 30 stadiums are expected to be equipped with humidity-controlled storage spaces.

A person familiar with the note spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Monday because the memo, sent by MLB executive vice president of baseball operations Morgan Sword, was sent privately. The Athletic first reported the contents of the memo.

The makeup of official Rawlings baseballs used in MLB games has come under scrutiny in recent years. A record 6,776 homers were hit during the 2019 regular season.

Report: MLB slightly deadens ball amid HR surge

MLB is slightly deadening its baseball in an effort to combat a years-long surge in home runs, a source confirmed to the AP.

www.espn.com

Win Twins!!

 

[forever a gopher]

I remember an interview during the 2019 season where Manfred said he “had no idea” why balls were traveling farther, and that the balls were identical to years prior. But now they determined it’s worth “deadening” the balls? Good grief. Just admit you were juicing it, but now you’re un-juicing it to fix it and move on. But no, they have to pretend like we’re all idiots and that we have no idea what’s going on.

I thought Selig was a bumbling stumbling idiot, but in comparison to Manfred, he looks like a genius.

 

[short ornery norwegian]

is it too late for the Twins to back out of the deal with Nelson Cruz?

If the ball is not going to carry as far, then people who make contact and put the ball in play will suddenly be back in vogue. And that is not the Twins.

Strike out twice and hit a HR is one thing. Strike out twice and fly out to deep center is another thing entirely.

And 'forever' is right. Manfred is a disaster.

 

[Oregon Gopher]

Most of Cruz’s HRs clear the fence by well more than 2 feet. Bigger question is will we see his reaction time worsening thanks to aging?

 

[Wally]

Only way I watch baseball is if they bring back steroids...