Earlier on Saturday, Mets second baseman/outfielder Jeff McNeil joined Robin Lundberg on the Sports Illustrated web-show SI Now to discuss the rise in home runs across the major leagues. Asked if baseball fans had “become numb” to the long-ball, McNeil said the following:

“Guys aren’t hitting 73 like Bonds was hitting that one year [2001], but there’s a lot more guys hitting 30, 40, 50… these balls are hot… I was playing in a minor-league game the other day and a few guys just crushed those balls, and they weren’t even close to going out,” McNeil said. “The balls here – they’re fun to hit.”

Known for his abilities as a slap hitter, McNeil has enjoyed a power surge to go with his quest for a batting title. Heading into yesterday’s contest with the Phillies, he owned a .917 OPS – a 65-point increase from his .852 showing in his rookie season. What’s more, McNeil has already clobbered 16 home runs through his first 111 games of the 2019 season. He’s on pace to finish with 20 – which would make for his highest mark as a professional. He entered his age-26 season in 2018 with nine for his minor-league career before crushing 19 between Double-A Binghamton and Triple-A Las Vegas.

McNeil also addressed the chance that the Major League baseballs themselves are manufactured differently, or “juiced,” as dubbed by fans and pundits alike:

“I don’t necessarily think they’re juiced from last year. The big-league ball is different from a minor-league ball. Everyone’s known that, but I think you’re seeing the numbers jump in Triple-A this year because they are using the big-league ball…”

“From this year to last year, I don’t think they’re extremely juiced, but they’re definitely more fun to hit,” the All-Star added.

In their first year adopting the same model baseball as that of the big-league clubs, Triple-A hitters have already combined for 5,622 dingers – an increase of nearly 2,000 from the 3,652 hit throughout all of 2018. The trend has carried over to the majors in almost identical fashion, as teams had combined for 5,670 homers heading into yesterday’s action – a number positioned to break a 2017 record of 6,105 by over 750.

The Minnesota Twins managed their 268th home run as a team to break a record previously set by last year’s New York Yankees, though they still have 28 games left to play in the regular season. 93 players have managed 20 or more home runs this season, a figure set to obliterate the 100-player list from 2018.

Numerous players have offered their opinions on the debate of the design of the ball being tweaked, though truth be told, a debate is moot considering the veritable astrophysical findings from earlier in the summer. While commissioner Rob Manfred has (conveniently) denied the possibility of the baseball being modified, the spike remains a daily point of contention, with one particular Twitter page offering daily chronicles of  home runs that range from unprecedented to baffling.

Veteran pitchers Justin Verlander and Jon Lester have already voiced their skepticism, with the former citing the league’s recent purchase of manufacturing rights from longtime partner Rawlings, and the latter taking to MLB Network to offer the following:

“You see guys hit balls, and they just keep going… especially the oppo [opposite-field] homers from guys you wouldn’t think would hit oppo homers. We’re in San Francisco and guys are making the park look small. Dodger Stadium is small now. We used to roll into those places regardless of lineup, you’d get beat by doubles… now Cody Bellinger‘s hitting balls onto the freeway.”

McNeil’s own breakthrough seems to follow a similar narrative, even with his maintained strength of finding holes and reaching base safely. Pitchers are currently averaging 1.41 homers allowed per nine innings – a value nearly double the 0.86 averaged just five years ago. Hard-hit rate has jumped from 29.1% to 38% in that same amount of time, with HR/FB rising from 9.5% to 15.3%.