Peter Gammons was on local Chicago sports radio this morning. The discussion centered around whether the baseball was "juiced" with the rash of home runs this season.
Gammons believes that the ball was not intentionally altered to create a ball that travels farther. He thinks there may be changes in the manufacturing process which could lead to such results.
Mike Mulligan stated that he has discussed the issue with pitching coaches who believe that the baseball itself is different. That the stitches are harder. Jake Arrieta sweats so much that he had a hard time gripping the current ball. They thought that is why Arrieta's command is so much different this season that the last two.
Gammons thought that was an interesting comment. Also, based on the Nate Silver and USA Today articles on the baseball conspiracy theories, Gammons said he took a current ball back to his office to compare with older ones he had there. He said that he found that the current baseball seams are much lower than the older models. He thinks that if the seams are lower, that may cause the ball to spin or bite less, which would mean less breaking action on curves and sliders.
Arrieta in his prime had biting action but also was able to hit his spots. Gammons thinks that is the major problem with pitching today is that pitchers are not able to consistently hit their spots. He said David Price is having problems hitting the corners even though his velocity is back up to the mid-90s. Price is uncharacteristically leaving fastballs over the heart of the plate.
Gammons also thinks that the detailed analysis of swing planes and launch angles is also contributing to higher home run totals. He says batters are now learning to hit the ball in the air. He says that they are squaring up pitches more for towering home runs to deep center field or with opposite field power. If the baseball is not moving as much as before, the batter is getting a flatter pitch to hit - - - and hit hard.
It could be the combination of the baseball manufacturing process where the seams are lower, the grip weaker for pitchers, and ball movement less that has contributed to the soaring home run rate.
But not to be discounted, Gammons remarked that the strike zone has shifted this season. Umpires are not calling the lower strike. Before, pitchers were getting calls near the ankle. Today, the strike zone has moved up from the thigh to the letters. Gammons thinks that is also a contributing factor because pitchers are forced to throw pitches higher in the zone -- a position where batters can hit them harder.
The Cubs-Nationals series was clear evidence that the balls thrown at the bottom of the strike zone were not called by the umpires. Cub pitchers got extremely frustrated with the strike zone. On the flip side, pitchers are told that they have to adjust their strategy to match an umpire's strike zone calls. But if the umpire is not calling the lower 6 inches of the plate, that is a huge in-game adjustment. If you are a pitcher whose "out" pitch is a slider in at the knees, and that pitch won't get called - - - then you are in trouble.
That may have been Arrieta's last start in a nutshell. He walked 6 batters which set off the Nationals running game against his slow delivery to the plate. A frustrated Miguel Montero voiced his displeasure at being blamed for a record 7 steals against the battery combination - - - and lost his job because of his truthful comments. But Arrieta's command has been an issue all year. He has reverted to his performance stats when he was in Baltimore, to the chagrin of fans.
An altered seam on baseballs, a different strike zone and batters learning to put the ball in the air have all had an impact on home run derby season in major league baseball.
