A little copy/pasta from Fox News starting with some quotes from Justin Verlander.
“It’s a f---ing joke. Major League Baseball’s turning this game into a joke. They own Rawlings, and you’ve got (MLB Commissioner Rob) Manfred up here saying it might be the way they center the pill. They own the f---ing company,†Verlander said. “We all know what happened. Manfred, the first time he came in, what’d he say? He said 'we want more offense.' All of a sudden he comes in, the balls are juiced? It’s not coincidence. We’re not idiots.â€
But as reported by
Deadspin, a spike in home runs has been observed for at least two years — and MLB purchased Rawlings last summer.
Recent changes in baseballs have made them more aerodynamic, producing less drag in flight but weren’t necessarily “juiced†to increase home runs as Verlander has claimed, the report said.
I don't know if that's the case or not, but I actually like the change and increased offense. Pitching was my thing all through my baseball "career". I love to watch good pitching, but as I've said many times recently, I thought we had gotten to the point where the arms were overpowering the game. It seems everybody who steps on the bump now can bring it at 95-100 m.p.h. And pitchers are used so situationally now, that it's not unusual to see 3 pitchers in an inning. Honestly, very few want to watch a 3 hour....3-1 game. If MLB has in fact juiced the balls, then so be it. You still have to put a round bat on a round ball coming at 97 m.p.h.