MLB slightly deadening ball, adding humidors in five more parks amid HR surge, according to reports

[JonLP24]

MLB anticipates the changes will be subtle, and a memo to teams last week cited an independent lab that found the new balls will fly 1 to 2 feet shorter when hit over 375 feet. Five teams also plan to add humidors to their stadiums, raising the total to 10 of 30 MLB stadiums equipped with humidity-controlled storage spaces.

(Snip)

The makeup of official Rawlings baseballs used in MLB games has come under scrutiny in recent years. A record 6,776 homers were hit during the 2019 regular season, and the rate of home runs fell only slightly during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season – from 6.6% of plate appearances resulting in homers in 2019 to 6.5% last year.

A four-person committee of scientists commissioned by MLB concluded after the 2019 season that baseballs had less drag on average than in previous seasons, contributing to the power surge. Their report blamed the spike in part on inconsistencies in seam height.

MLB’s balls are hand-sewn by workers at Rawlings’ factory in Costa Rica, leading to inevitable, minor deviations in production that can have sizeable repercussions.

https://amp.usatoday.com/amp/4445628001?__twitter_impression=true

[demosincebirth]

1. Seam height can also help pitchers.

Thanks to the DUer who gave me my ❤️

[LisaM]

2. I'd like to see more fielding.

Baseball has been more boring thanks to the shift, the excessive pitching changes, and more home runs. It would be excellent to see more actual plays.