The “juiced ball” investigation has been gaining steam for months and may now be approaching critical mass. ESPN’s Sports Science teamed with academic investigators in an effort understand why baseballs might be traveling farther and the results were pretty stunning.
Much of the dialogue to this point has dealt with the outside of the ball, either the height of the seams or how slick the exterior was. Pitchers were very vocal about how the balls felt different — obligatory reminder that it’s important to check yourself occasionally — and weren’t moving as well as they had in the past, which they blamed for increasing blister issues and more hard contact.