Juiced baseballs in the WS ?

[Strychnine]

Yeah, I know there have been talks of this since mid-2015 to bump up HR numbers, but the past few nights have seemed a bit ridiculous.


2017 World Series Enters All-Time Elite Due to Alleged Juiced Balls, HR Record
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Historic World Series Home Run Rate may be Result of Slicker Baseballs
Juiced baseballs? Another World Series HR derby raises more questions

In the hours leading up to Game 5 of the World Series, a Houston Astros relief pitcher went to the team’s bullpen in right field to conduct an experiment. He dabbed a bit of super glue on his index and middle fingers, let it dry slightly and picked up one of the embattled baseballs that became a front-and-center story Sunday during the game’s biggest event.

Sports Illustrated’s Tom Verducci reported Astros and Los Angeles Dodgers pitchers have complained of slick balls this postseason, adding scrutiny to a vital component of the game that has been accused of fueling the massive home run spike over the last 2½ seasons. The Astros pitcher resorted to super glue to see if it could help him better grip the ball.

What happened instead was small white pieces of the ball’s leather hide flaked off and stuck to his fingers. Perhaps this was the natural result of using an adherent as strong as super glue, but it fueled paranoia even more that something is wrong with the balls being used this October.This wasn’t the first test in the Astros’ bullpen this postseason. Lance McCullers Jr., the Astros’ Game 3 starter slated to start a potential Game 7, recently turned his back to Astros pitching coach Brent Strom, who stuck a ball into McCullers’ hand with a question: regular-season ball or playoff ball? They repeated the exercise five more times, with three blue-stamped regular-season balls and three gold-stamped playoff ones.

“I went 6 for 6,” McCullers told Yahoo Sports.

Home runs kept flying over the wall at Minute Maid Park, on line drives up toward the train tracks, on fly balls that just dropped over the fence.

Seven more were hit in Game 5, raising the total to a World Series record 22 -- with two possible more games to play. Twenty-five runs were scored in a game started by the Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw and the Astros' Dallas Keuchel, Cy Young Award winners regarded as among baseball's best.

[BP]

Most players are using bats other than Louisville Slugger these days as well. Altuve uses a Victus, which is like comparing a GT350 to a clapped out fox body.

[Baron Von Crowder]

man, that's a slick move that really takes some balls on MLB's part.

[AnthonyS]

It's been this way all year. Elvis hit 20 HRs this year. It's not new for the WS.

[juiceweezl]

I think it's a combination. The game has changed. Players get paid to hit home runs (paid a lot of money), so that's what they're all trying to do -- no matter their ability. I think MLB has wound the balls tighter as well. Pitchers are throwing harder... Factor it all in, and you get more home runs. I'd have to check the numbers, but I'm willing to bet strikeouts are up too. It's all relative.

[Ruffdaddy]

It makes the games more exciting.

Once players adapt i think it's a good thing.

[Sean88gt]

I'm not sure I care

[bird_dog0347]

I seem to recall about 10-15 years ago we all thought the ball was juiced... there was this same wild speculation and in the end it was nothing more than PED's that Players were taking.

Now I'm not saying that they haven't juiced the ball, but there's no chance in hell I trust the players and too many of them look too big to me, it's getting back to that point. My money is on new drugs that have the same effect but the testing is not adequate.

[BP]

I seem to recall about 10-15 years ago we all thought the ball was juiced... there was this same wild speculation and in the end it was nothing more than PED's that Players were taking.

The thing about the ban is that it established maximum standards for certain hormones. Sure they banned a few substances, many of which were illegal already but they also gave players a set of goals to attain. Testosterone is the main thing they check and they use the testosterone/epitestosterone ratio through urinalysis. In normal healthy males it's 1:1 but some athletes can naturally attain levels of 4:1 so MLB set that as a standard. Stay under this level and you pass. Ryan Braun tested at 20:1 when he was suspended btw.

So if you fail the urine test they do a carbon isotope blood test to determine if the test in your system is natural or not. Fail this one and you get suspended. So you can cheat all you want just stay under their guidelines when you are actually being tested. In the off season you can take as much of whatever you want btw since they aren't testing. So you can hit spring training looking like Ronnie Coleman and carry the benefits of that for several months.

[Chili]

As long as they're using the same balls for both teams, I don't care.