With the excitement of the record-breaking Midsummer Classic, the conversation in Cleveland has largely focused on a pressing controversy in Major League Baseball- the inception of the juiced baseball.
During the first round of the Home Run Derby, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. set a single-round record hitting 29 homers to top Josh Hamilton’s 28 in 2008. He went on to hit a total of 91.
It’s no secret that the baseball is hopping over the fence at alarming rates this season. Craig Calcaterra of NBC Sports found that MLB players homered 1,142 times during June- setting a record for the most home runs hit in a month- for the second consecutive month. The single-season record was set in 2017 when players mashed 6,105 taters, and the league is on pace to shatter that.
The Derby only highlighted the season-long controversy over the composition of Major League baseballs. Beat writers, broadcasters, and current and former players have all been on record discussing a new, allegedly “juiced” baseball that carries homers out of the park more than ever before.
Former Met legend Darryl Strawberry isn’t on board with juiced ball theories despite having not played since 1999 as detailed by SNY.
“I wouldn’t know because I’m not hitting…But I can tell you one thing. I think the ballparks are a little smaller than they used to be and I think the guys are a lot strong. I don’t really think they’re juicing the baseball but, like I said before, I really couldn’t tell because I am not facing any pitches.”
Strawberry said he believes that “pitching is not what it used to be, and guys get a better chance to hit home runs,” despite that fact that pitchers are arguably throwing harder with more break on pitches than ever.
MLB’s Commissioner Rob Manfred has denied claims that the league had purposely altered the baseballs.
“Baseball has done nothing, given no direction, for an alteration of the baseball,” Manfred said, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post. “The flaw in logic is that baseball wants more home runs.”
Many who deny the tampering of the baseball point to a difference in players’ plate approaches and workout regimens as the reason for the inundation of long-balls. Players hitting for three true outcomes-walks, strikeouts, or home runs- like Joey Gallo, Giancarlo Stanton, and Joc Pederson who train their bodies specifically to hit for power are becoming more and more common.
Pure hitters like Jeff McNeil with a high-average, low-strikeout combination are a throwback to a different type of player the league doesn’t see much anymore.
Justin Verlander is a proponent of the juiced ball theory. He aired his grievances with Rob Manfred and Major League baseballs this week in Cleveland.
“It’s a f—ing joke,” the All-Star vocalized, per ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
“Major League Baseball’s turning this game into a joke. They own Rawlings, and you’ve got Manfred up here saying it might be the way they center the pill. They own the f—ing company. If any other $40 billion company bought out a $400 million company and the product changed dramatically, it’s not a guess as to what happened. 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 a coincidence. We’re not idiots.”
Back in May, the Mets’ own Noah Syndergaard struggled with his off-speed pitches- claiming that the baseballs “felt like ice cubes,” after a start in Philadelphia, per Mike Puma of the New York Post. “Watch a video of a dog trying to pick up an ice cube, that’s what it was like.”
Regardless of whether the balls have been altered or not, the topic of the juiced ball has prevailed during MLB All-Star Week- all while players have been mashing colossal dingers.
