MLB making changes to the baseball,

[Ron Madden]

MLB making changes to the baseball, deadening it — but by how much?

By Eno Sarris and Ken Rosenthal

Fewer home runs might be hit this year in baseball, sacrifices on the path to efficiency and standardization. Multiple sources confirm the ball’s construction will change slightly, and five more teams are adding humidors for ball storage — all parts of MLB’s attempt to reduce the wild recent year-to-year swings in home run rates league-wide.

The Athletic obtained an internal memo Major League Baseball sent Friday to general managers, assistant general managers, and equipment managers outlining minor changes that might combine to reduce offense slightly in the 2021 season. The combined effects might seem imperceptible to fans and perhaps even those on the field, but past history suggests very small changes to the ball’s construction can be a big deal.

https://theathletic.com/2375121/2021....co/z1tV98R40V

[Coopdaddy67]

The concern for me would be if the ball's alteration results in an even more impactful shift.

[757690]

This was the key sentence in the article for me:

On the field, Korean baseball was drastically different from one year to the next: Slugging in KBO was down 14 percent and homers were cut by a third.

[Ron Madden]

C. Trent Rosecrans
@ctrent
The #Reds are not one of the 5 teams adding humidors for baseballs

[M2]

I'd be down for a dramatic reduction in HRs. If that happened, Tyler Mahle might become a monster. Certainly would feel good about the Reds being well-armed. In fact, it argues for spending whatever's left in the kitty for pitchers and going defense-first (mainly Garcia) at SS.

[KronoRed]

This will blow up in their faces nicely.

[M2]

This will blow up in their faces nicely.

How so?

[Bourgeois Zee]

The concern for me would be if the ball's alteration results in an even more impactful shift.

How so?

[Bourgeois Zee]

I'd be down for a dramatic reduction in HRs. If that happened, Tyler Mahle might become a monster. Certainly would feel good about the Reds being well-armed. In fact, it argues for spending whatever's left in the kitty for pitchers and going defense-first (mainly Garcia) at SS.

Castillo, as hard as he is to hit, could become an absolute monster. (Or conversely, both he and Gray would nibble so much that they'd be largely unchanged.)

[KronoRed]

How so?

People like homeruns and slugging, if this reduces those without cutting down on strikeouts and walks then it's just bad.

[M2]

People like homeruns and slugging, if this reduces those without cutting down on strikeouts and walks then it's just bad.

People are impossible to please, but they seem to love complaining. They've been complaining that it's all home runs in recent years. So they can complain about this for a while.

I thought the 2018 season when HRs were way down gave us some good baseball.

[Old school 1983]

Home runs are no longer exciting when they are the norm. When they are more scarce, they are more exciting.

[Bob Sheed]

People are impossible to please, but they seem to love complaining. They've been complaining that it's all home runs in recent years. So they can complain about this for a while.

It's not that it's "all HRs." It's that it's either a HR, Walk, a Strikeout, or they hit into the shift. It's boring. Taking away the long ball in favor of more flyouts doesn't strike me as a good solution to the problem.

But nobody really wants what it would take for an actual solution. So we'll just mess with the baseball. That always turns out well.

[M2]

It's not that it's "all HRs." It's that it's either a HR, Walk, a Strikeout, or they hit into the shift. It's boring. Taking away the long ball in favor of more flyouts doesn't strike me as a good solution to the problem.

But nobody really wants what it would take for an actual solution. So we'll just mess with the baseball. That always turns out well.

Players will have to adapt by hitting for average and drilling the ball into the gaps. Some teams will get there faster, but that's how you do offense when the ball doesn't go over the fence just because you sneezed on it.

And where we've been the past two seasons has been the consequence of messing with the baseball. If anything, this would be an un-messing.

[Bob Sheed]

Players will have to adapt by hitting for average and drilling the ball into the gaps. Some teams will get there faster, but that's how you do offense when the ball doesn't go over the fence just because you sneezed on it.

And where we've been the past two seasons has been the consequence of messing with the baseball. If anything, this would be an un-messing.

I'm all for anything the reawakens any or all of the wonderful subtleties of baseball, currently missing.

The suicide squeeze. Remember that?

Base hit. A sacrifice bunt, runner to 2nd. Runner dancing off of 2nd like a madman. And he stole 3rd! Sacrifice flyout brings the runner home.

You know... baseball.