The article is behind a paywall. But it claims that MLB used different baseballs for preferred teams and matchups than it did for everyone else. 

Edited December 1, 20214 yr by Jack Parkman

The ball was absolutely juiced for Field of Dreams game 

3 minutes ago, Jack Parkman said:

The article is behind a paywall. But it claims that MLB used different baseballs for preferred teams and matchups than it did for everyone else. 

I think the Field of Dreams game got the home run balls

It’s political bullshit 

I'm sure the league will appreciate the timing.

10 minutes ago, Jack Parkman said:

The article is behind a paywall. But it claims that MLB used different baseballs for preferred teams and matchups than it did for everyone else. 

Holy shit.

2 minutes ago, SoCalChiSox said:

I'm sure the league will appreciate the timing.

No doubt it’s intentional. ⚾️?

Here’s one that isn’t paywalled

https://fansided.com/2021/11/30/mlb-rob-manfred-2-different-baseballs-report/amp/

Will be juicey to read the athletic article once it comes out 

3 minutes ago, hi8is said:

Here’s one that isn’t paywalled

https://fansided.com/2021/11/30/mlb-rob-manfred-2-different-baseballs-report/amp/

Will be juicey to read the athletic article once it comes out 

He's trying his best to be worse than Bud Selig, who presided over a cancelled World Series.

Quote

Now, there must be consequences. Davis noted that a former commissioner of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball league resigned after a similar situation came to light. They had introduced juiced balls to yield more home runs, but had not informed their players. So in an eerily similar situation, should Manfred resign or be removed?

 

They really screwed over the pitchers midseason by bringing back the bouncy balls while simultaneously heavily enforcing a “sticky” substance ban.  Who knows how different the grip was on the “new” baseballs as well.

So juiced balls came back...and Yoan's power numbers didn't significantly increase? that is worrisome.

Also...good luck Rangers with Semien. This probably explains his explosion more than anything else.

 

Quote

With MLB’s new, highly-lucrative gambling partnerships, using two kinds of baseballs could manipulate sports betting, and tip the scales in a specific direction.

This story is insane if true. They literally could manipulate W/Ls for certain teams by supplying different balls if they wanted to. 

I'd kind of like to see how coordinated or not this whole thing was before leaping off of a bridge here.  Did certain balls go to certain teams?  Did the same ones go to the same teams all of the time?  Did they go out all at the same time?  I would also be curious about the whole details behind the conclusions about when balls were made, and what MLB's knowledge was of those production runs.

There are a TON of assumptions here, and pretty much all of them would be explained by a mix of ignorance and incompetence.  After seeing how awkwardly that MLB has handled other pressure situations, my first guess would be this was the case, and not some grand conspiracy.  Frankly MLB administration hasn't proven to me that they are that smart.

 

2 minutes ago, southsider2k5 said:

 

ah, AAA uses same balls now, I forgot about that.

thanks @Jack Parkman for making a thread for this. I saw allusions to this on twitter yesterday but didn't know the source of it.

Manfred's handling of this from the beginning, when he stated the balls from 2017(?) were not different when they had proven to be, to now this, is just such brutal incompetence.

Baseball fans care a lot about integrity of numbers. If a ball changes, a ball changes. Just be open about it. But to use different balls secretly is such garbage.

Also clearly Kimbrel kept being given the exploding baseballs.

3 minutes ago, bmags said:

Also clearly Kimbrel kept being given the exploding baseballs.

totally. Hahn calling up potential suitors: "Hey there (insert GM name), just wanted to talk about Craig again. We can assure you that you will get the dead ball version of him, the .54 ERA one. I called Manfred up, he agreed that part of the trade parameters includes Craig and 2 buckets of dead balls. K, thanks. Byeeee."

Based on this chart, Manfred & Co. used two separate balls, one within stated performance standards, the other not within stated performance standards, throughout the entire season.

What balls did MLB choose for the Astros vs. White Sox series, and why?

Step right up into MLB's sportsbooks, bet on our games from your seat, Really, it's all on the up and up.

 

 

 

15 minutes ago, Sambuca said:

 

 

?

49 minutes ago, Sambuca said:

 

 

Ouuuuuuch.

Man it's one thing to change the ball, it's another to have 2 different balls and selectively give teams a better ball for offense. This needs to be a much bigger scandal. 

 

I truly believed the Angels and Jays were given the juiced balls

31 minutes ago, chw42 said:

This needs to be a much bigger scandal. 

This.

With the White Sox lack of power and elite pitching for the majority of the season, can we speculate they were mostly playing with the “dead” ball?