It turns out they’re not all playing with the same baseball. The way they’re made, it would be impossible.
The record number of home runs flying out of big league ballparks in 2019 was the result of both the launch angle revolution and less drag on baseballs, likely due to “manufacturing variability,” according to a 27-page report that four independent scientists presented Wednesday morning at the Baseball Winter Meetings in San Diego.
The study found no intentional changes introduced by either Major League Baseball, which commissioned the report, or Rawlings, the manufacturer.
“We have never been asked to juice or de-juice a baseball,” Rawlings President and CEO Michael Zlaket said, “and we’ve never done anything of the sort.