Mr. Ed
Posts: 88732
Joined: 7/14/2007
From: Minne-so-ta
Status: offline
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Right Nothing is juiced Home runs are up around MLB this season, but league officials are certain there are no irregularities with the baseballs. Major League Baseball on Saturday sent a memo to all 30 teams (via Bob Nightengale of USA Today) that explained the testing procedure and results for balls. "The baseball in use today tests well within the established guidelines on every key performance metric," the memo states. "Furthermore, there is no evidence that the composition of the ball has changed in any way that would lead to a meaningful impact on on-field play." According to MLB Stat of the Day, the 1,101 home runs hit in June were the most in any month in history. May's total of 1,060 now ranks third all time, and May 2000 is second with 1,069. The 56 home runs hit June 17 marked the third-most on any day in MLB history, per the Elias Sports Bureau (via ESPN.com). Those numbers, and others, caused some to wonder whether baseballs had been altered. "There's a lot of people unhappy with the baseball, and I'm getting the same feedback," New York Mets pitching coach Dan Warthen said, per Nightengale. "You're seeing guys going opposite field, breaking their bats, and the balls are flying out. "It's the balls. They're throwing harder with it, but they're getting less movement, so they're just hanging there." Despite the complaints, MLB stated everything is on the up and up on its end. Expand the strike zone. Go back to letters to knees. Pitching isn't that great, but when the umps make them put it on a tee, what do you expect?
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