Those that follow MLB are likely aware that this season is on pace to not just break past season home run totals but to smash it. Games are going longer with more total runs scored and player batting averages skyrocketing, pitching issues, and an uptick in certain pitcher injuries like blisters (and perhaps other issues not yet identified).

There is a bit of a controversy, or at least debate, as to what is causing this surge. At one point MLB claimed that they had not requested any changes be made to the baseballs being used this season (but I have also heard evidence that they did in fact request a change in construction) and Rawlings, the baseball manufacture, claims there have not been any intended changes in baseball construction.

Jack Corrigan, one of the Colorado Rockies radio announcers, interviewed Dr. Meredith Wills, a Ph D. astrophysicist who has transitioned from her work studying solar events into sports analysis and talked with her about her studies on the surge and what she learned.

Dr. Wills wrote an article based on her studies for the athletic.com...however the article is behind a pay wall and requires a subscription.

Yes the baseball is different-again. An astrophysicist examines this year's baseballs and breaks down the changes

A quote from Dr. Will's article-
"To be clear the 2019 baseball is not the 2017 baseball and its different than baseballs going back to at least the 2000 season"


As a baseball fan I found what Dr. Wills had to say about her study into the phenomenon fascinating. This is a 20 minute audio interview with her.

[Note: it appears that the 20 minute 2 part interview was uploaded backwards so if you want to listen to the interview in sequence you will need to jump to the 12:45 mark and after listening to this part then go back to the beginning of the interview to catch the second half].

Rockies Q&A - Dr. Meredith Wills - 06-30

Rawlings makes the baseballs. The seams & stitching have changed so they present less drag from balls of previous years. Guess who owns Rawlings? MLB Time for Sholess Joe to Enter the HoF

Less drag explains why so many pitchers have Feller Koufax speed. I cannot believe >95 mph over and over is possible for so many hurlers.

Less drag means less action, less break, less curve. MLB hitters can hit the fastest fast balls, which the fans are clearly seeing.

Just more of MLB's attempt to "bring more action" to the game.
Want to speed up baseball? How 'bout we lose a few of the 73k commercial breaks during the game?

quote:

Originally posted by cas:
Less drag means less action, less break, less curve. MLB hitters can hit the fastest fast balls, which the fans are clearly seeing.

Just more of MLB's attempt to "bring more action" to the game.
Want to speed up baseball? How 'bout we lose a few of the 73k commercial breaks during the game?

The ball is moving a lot. I think it just has more velocity off the bat.

The balls have been changed since around the 2015 all star break. The seams are lower, the ball is slightly smaller and harder. Pitchers have been having blister problems since then because it’s more difficult to control the ball with the lower seams. Lower seams mean obviously less wind resistance.

This may also explain why pitchers who are having a great season in the minors, don’t do as well when they get called up to the show. The MLB and MiLB balls are different. The MiLB balls supposedly have more pronounced seams and stitching.

quote:

Originally posted by 2Adefender:
This may also explain why pitchers who are having a great season in the minors, don’t do as well when they get called up to the show. The MLB and MiLB balls are different. The MiLB balls supposedly have more pronounced seams and stitching.

Huh... well THAT'S interesting.
As many of you already know, my nephew is a pitcher in the MiLB.

quote:

Originally posted by 4MUL8R:
Less drag explains why so many pitchers have Feller Koufax speed. I cannot believe >95 mph over and over is possible for so many hurlers.

I can. "Back in the day", Nolan Ryan (and others) pitched at that speed and faster...FOR A FULL GAME!! There was no such thing as this 100-pitch limit BS. You had 4 or 5 in the starting rotation and then some closers that pitched the 9th inning...MAYBE the 8th. Yeah...I know the player is an investment and the owner(s) and GM want to get every ounce of play outta him. But Ryan did it for his entire career.

It's almost unheard of for a pitcher to have a complete game nowadays. Starting pitcher (100-ish pitches), 3 or 4 "middle relievers", and then a closer. I stopped watching baseball after the classic Astros era (Ryan, Cruz, Bagwell, Biggio, etc.) and when I came back to it, this was the pitching strategy.

I don't think baseball was intended to be the excitement of hockey. 17-13 is bullcrap for a baseball score...JMHO.

Maybe they should hire the guys at NASA to develop a plan where MLB isn’t boring AF.

quote:

Originally posted by chellim1:

quote:

Originally posted by 2Adefender:
This may also explain why pitchers who are having a great season in the minors, don’t do as well when they get called up to the show. The MLB and MiLB balls are different. The MiLB balls supposedly have more pronounced seams and stitching.

Huh... well THAT'S interesting.
As many of you already know, my nephew is a pitcher in the MiLB.

There has always been variations in the ball from minors to MLB. The college ball and highschool ball are different too. When college went to the BBCOR bat standard it killed the long ball in the college game. To counter this, college started using the minor league ball spec which had lower seams, giving the ball about 20% more carry off the bat. The MLB has always had the lowest seam profile as the most experienced pitchers can use that seam to work the ball more. Ever notice that any ball that touches the ground in the MLB gets thrown out before the next pitch? That's because an MLB level pitcher can use any little scuff on the ball to help impart spin and gain movement.

Higher seams is an advantage to the pitcher, lower seams an advantage to the hitter. The MLB ball has always had the lowest seam profile so I am not sure how much they could do there. If anything, my guess would be the balls are wound tighter, thus harder, and that makes them jump off the bat more....thats if anything is really different.

Here is my guess, hitters are approaching hitting differently than ever before. Everyone from the lead off hitter to the 9 hole is swinging for power. Strategically, get them on...get them over...get them in is dead. Bunts are down, stolen bases are down, nobody has a two strike approach anymore. Teams have determined that they are better off having every hitter elevate the ball with a chance to hit a home run than to hit line drives and string 2 or 3 hits together.

Homers are way up, as are strikeouts but the game will adjust. Pitcher's will learn to live at the top of the strike zone where the longer bat path of launch angle swing mechanics struggle. The pendulum will swing and the next Tony Gwynn will come along and contact hitters will be all the rage.

quote:

Originally posted by erj_pilot:
It's almost unheard of for a pitcher to have a complete game nowadays. Starting pitcher (100-ish pitches), 3 or 4 "middle relievers", and then a closer. I stopped watching baseball after the classic Astros era (Ryan, Cruz, Bagwell, Biggio, etc.) and when I came back to it, this was the pitching strategy.

I don't think baseball was intended to be the excitement of hockey. 17-13 is bullcrap for a baseball score...JMHO.

I had the pleasure yesterday of watching Max Scherzer throw 115 pitches in eight innings, strike out 14, and walk away with a 2-1 win.

Now THAT'S baseball!

quote:

Originally posted by erj_pilot:

quote:

Originally posted by 4MUL8R:
Less drag explains why so many pitchers have Feller Koufax speed. I cannot believe >95 mph over and over is possible for so many hurlers.

I can. "Back in the day", Nolan Ryan (and others) pitched at that speed and faster...FOR A FULL GAME!! There was no such thing as this 100-pitch limit BS. You had 4 or 5 in the starting rotation and then some closers that pitched the 9th inning...MAYBE the 8th. Yeah...I know the player is an investment and the owner(s) and GM want to get every ounce of play outta him. But Ryan did it for his entire career.

While I can certainly lament the days of complete games, ('68 Juan Marichal 38-games started, 30 CG bested only by Gibson's own remarkable season) kids at the middle/high school level are throwing in more games and they're throwing more off-speed pitches which is straining their elbows and not allowing the shoulder and arm to develop correctly. TJ surgery is becoming too common at those ages.

Then you have college programs like Stanford and Texas who are notorious for overworking their pitchers, resulting in injuries or, burnt-out arms when they get to the professional level. Either way, kids are throwing in a lot more games, and what off-season they have, they're constantly throwing off a mound working on their pitches.

Back to the OP, I just heard the author in an interview, here's the podcast
6-29 Meredith Wills talks about How one tiny change to the baseball may have led to both the home run surge and the rise in pitcher blisters

Swinging for the fences helps negate the defensive shift!

quote:

Originally posted by chellim1:

quote:

Originally posted by 2Adefender:
This may also explain why pitchers who are having a great season in the minors, don’t do as well when they get called up to the show. The MLB and MiLB balls are different. The MiLB balls supposedly have more pronounced seams and stitching.

Huh... well THAT'S interesting.
As many of you already know, my nephew is a pitcher in the MiLB.

It’s my understanding that the minors are using the MLB ball for the first time this year. And yep... homeruns are up in the minors compared to previous seasons, by a lot.