Unhappy with the recent home run surge, Major League Baseball reportedly has altered the game balls for the 2021 season, reducing their weight without changing the size.
The league specifically instructed Rawlings to loosen the tension on the first of three wool windings within the ball. This is because the coefficient of restitution (COR), which measures the ball’s bounciness, surged past the desired range of .530 to .570.
The adjustments shouldn’t have too much of an effect on the rate of home runs flying out of the ballpark, as an independent study found the new balls to travel one to two feet shorter when hit over 375 feet.
However, MLB has explored other ways in curbing the amount of home runs hit as well. According to the Associated Press, five teams are planning to add humidors to their stadium this season, which brings the total to 10 MLB ballparks equipped with humidity-controlled storage spaces:
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.
While it is unclear which teams will add a humidor this season, the five clubs that already have one in place are the Arizona Diamondbacks, Boston Red Sox, Colorado Rockies, New York Mets and Seattle Mariners.
It would be surprising if the Los Angeles Dodgers were one of the teams asked to add a humidor, given the marine layer on certain nights that affects how far a batted ball travels.
L.A. nonetheless led baseball in home runs in each of the past two seasons, with the majority of them coming at Dodger Stadium.
David Price questions MLB on changing baseballs
When reports surfaced that MLB was changing the game balls, David Price took to Twitter to call out the league for essentially admitting the baseballs of past seasons were juiced.
MLB previously attributed the record number of home runs hit during the 2019 season to a decrease in air resistance and inconsistent seam height.
The rate of home runs hit last season fell only slightly to 6.5% of total plate appearances in comparison to the 6.6% mark that was posted the previous year.
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