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Modifications to the Baseball's Physical Features in Major League Baseball
Introduction
So far this season, the most discussed issue in Major League Baseball has been the noticeable differences in the baseballs used during games and how these changes are affecting the quality of play in MLB.
This year, Major League Baseball, along with its baseball manufacturer, Rawlings , has altered the specific physical characteristics of the baseballs utilized in games, leading to a significant decline in scoring during the early part of the MLB season in April.
The Scoring Rate in Major League Baseball Games has Plummeted
Between the total of the 30 Major League Baseball Teams have collectively recorded an average of only 4.0 runs per game throughout April 2022, marking the lowest monthly average since the 1981 MLB season . Additionally, they are scoring an average of 0.26 runs per game less than the previous MLB season.
The league-wide batting average for MLB players is at .231, the lowest for April in MLB history, while the overall OPS of .675 is the lowest since the 1968 season, which was famously referred to as “ The Year of the Pitcher ”.
Offensive performances from baseball teams have reached the lowest level they’ve seen in four decades, with the on-base plus slugging (OPS) at its lowest in over fifty years and the batting average also hitting record lows for the first month of the Major League season.
These statistics become even more astonishing considering that the National League has now joined the American League in implementing the designated hitter (DH) rule this year, meaning that the previously lower performance metrics from National League pitchers can no longer distort the current data scrutinized in the Statcast analysis era.
Pitchers had a combined batting average of merely .110 last year, which represented the worst performance ever recorded for a full MLB season. However, this year, all league batting figures including average, OPS, and isolated power have seen a significant decline compared to last April.
2022: .231 BA, .675 OPS .137 ISO
2021: .232 BA, 699 OPS, .157 ISO
The Drop in Home Runs in MLB Could Be the Culprit
The trend of decreasing batting averages in professional baseball is hardly a recent issue. In fact, the last four complete MLB seasons have witnessed the four lowest April batting averages in the last four decades, but the notable drop in home run rates has been the key factor suppressing major league offensive output during the ongoing 2022 season.
In April 2022, only 36% of the runs scored were due to home runs, the lowest percentage for this month since 2015. Remember the 2019 season, known as the “ Year of the Home Run ”, when MLB hitters recorded an all-time high in home runs? Back then, 43.5% of runs were generated through home runs, indicating a severe reduction over a span of three years.
"There’s something off. We analyze the data and see how hard the ball is hit, yet somehow it gets caught,\" said infielder Patrick Wisdom, adding " It raises many questions and eyebrows. \" Chicago Cubs For the first time since 2015, teams have averaged fewer than one home run per game per team during the first month of the Major League Baseball season.
The Flight of the Baseball off MLB Players’ Bats is Different
- 2022: 0.91
- 2021: 1.14
- 2019: 1.31
- 2018: 1.09
- 2017: 1.17
- 2016: 1.05
- 2015: 0.91
Analysis of balls hit with an exit velocity between 102 and 105 miles per hour and a launch angle of 27 to 29 degrees showed these figures align with prior seasons' averages of 103.6 mph in exit speed and 399.7 feet in distance since Statcast began tracking this data in 2015. The research aimed to minimize the influence of weather by focusing exclusively on two indoor venues: the American Family Field (formerly Miller Park) and another comparable location.
Out of the seven previously hit balls that matched our parameters, six resulted in home runs, whereas only three of the corresponding hits in 2022 achieved the same result. Each ball hit this season within our specified metrics traveled systematically shorter distances than previous seasons' equivalents, regardless of having comparable exit velocities and launch angles under similar conditions. Tampa Bay Rays’ Tropicana Field .
"The ball feels fundamentally different now. I recall being 165 pounds soaking wet and effortlessly sending balls out,\" stated Andrew McCutchen, a veteran outfielder for the Milwaukee Brewers. "I've hit balls that should definitely go out but don’t. We’re left questioning why some hits with an exit velocity of 96 and a launch angle of 31 go over, yet my ball at 100 mph and a 28-degree launch doesn’t... Players are definitely not weaker. \"
Baseballs Crafted for the 2022 MLB Season Have Distinct Differences
The baseballs used in the 2022 MLB season are significantly designed and constructed differently compared to earlier baseballs utilized in the league, and this is undeniably intentional.
In a general memo distributed by Major League Baseball to all franchises during the 2021-2022 offseason, MLB explained their intention to modify the baseballs in response to the soaring home run statistics from recent seasons.
In the 2019 MLB regular season, a record total of 6,776 home runs were hit, with the home run rate barely lowering from 6.6% in 2019 to 6.5% during the 2021 MLB season. It's important to note that the 2020 season was significantly abbreviated due to the COVID-19 pandemic .
To alter the core of the baseball, the tension in the first of three wool windings inside the baseball was adjusted to be looser. Rawlings estimated this minor change in the baseball’s interior would reduce its coefficient of restitution , a measure of how bouncy a baseball is, and decrease its weight by 2.8 grams without affecting its overall size.
These slight modifications aimed to reduce the distance by only a foot or two for balls hit over 375 feet, yet analysis of the most likely home runs (hit at an exit velocity of 100 mph and a launch angle between 20 and 35 degrees) shows the effects of altering the baseballs exceed that expectation significantly.
Balls with 100 MPH EV & 20-35 Degree Launch Angle
HR % 59 % 47 %
2015-21 * 2022
- FB Distance 399.6 394.6
- Batting Average .790 .706
- Slugging % 2.783 2.384
- * Excludes the shortened 2020 MLB season due to the COVID-19 pandemic
"I've definitely had moments this season where I was shocked a ball didn’t go out,\" expressed Daniel Hudson, a pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers. "I'm not sure what the solution is, whether they need to tighten them up again or whatever changes they're implementing. It seems guys are frustrated -- there’s no transparency on it.\"
The Role of Humidors in Storing Baseballs is Significant
For the first time in the extensive history of Major League Baseball, all 30 franchises are using humidors to store their baseballs, a substantial increase from just 10 teams that were doing so at the end of the 2021 MLB season. Humidors help create a more consistent baseball experience by regulating moisture in the environment surrounding the balls. The changes in offensive performance seen in the 10 ballparks with existing humidors versus the 20 that have added them for the 2022 season are notable.
HR/FB BA OPS HR% AB/HR RUNS/GAME
Change from 2021 to 2022
Previously had Humidor: -0.7% .001 -.001 -0.1% 0.30 -.0.01
Added Humidor this Season: -2.4% -.003 -.035 -0.8% 13.11 -0.35
Home run per fly ball has decreased by 0.7% in parks that previously had humidors, while there has been a 2.4% decline in the newly equipped ones this season. This indicates that the number of at-bats per home run has barely changed in the established locations, but in the new venues, it now requires an average of 13.1 additional at-bats for a home run to occur.
"There was one in Minnesota where I hit like 106 at 29 degrees, but it got caught at the track. That should have been an easy homer. Another one was 104 at 27, which should also have gone out, but fell short,\" the infielder Gavin Lux recounted to the media. "Conversations with players in Atlanta regarding that second ball revealed that it sounded great off the bat, but then just didn't carry as expected.\"
Alterations to the Baseball Leading to a Lack of Runs in MLB Los Angeles Dodgers Find the Top Online Casinos Available in Your Nation
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The Transformation of the Baseball's Physical Characteristics in the MLB
Thus far this season, the major discussion point within Major League Baseball focuses on how the baseballs utilized in games have changed and the resulting effects on the performance seen on the field.
- March / April: .244 / .317 / .403, .720 OPS, HR every 30.1 AB, 4.39 RPG
- May: .250 / .319 / .413, .732 OPS, HR every 28.9 AB, 4.45 RPG
- June: .255 / .321 / .423, .744 OPS, HR every 27.6 AB, 4.61 RPG
- July: .253 / .321 / .421, .742 OPS, HR every 28.3 AB, 4.57 RPG
- August: .254 / .322 / .426, .749 OPS, HR every 26.7 AB, 4.63 RPG
- Modifications have been made by Major League Baseball along with the baseball manufacturing company, Rawlings , to the physical design of the baseballs during the opening month of the 2022 regular season, which resulted in a significant drop in offensive scoring during games.
Offensive Performance is Remarkably Low Across MLB Games
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