MLB: No, the baseballs aren’t juiced

By May 9, 2017, 9:47 PM EDT
Dylan Buell/Getty Images
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Major League Baseball has seen a serious uptick in home runs over the past two seasons. In 2015, the league saw just over one home run hit on average per game. Last season, that jumped up significantly to 1.16 and it stands at 1.18 so far this season — before summer, when more homers are typically hit. During the “steroid era,” the average peaked at 1.17 in 2000 but was mostly in the 1.10-1.14 area.

We’re not seeing outliers like Barry Bonds hitting 73 home runs anymore, but we are seeing the types of players who used to hit 10 home runs now hitting 20 homers (see: Freddy Galvis). For example, in 1999 and 2000, the league saw 100-plus players cross the 20-homer time for the first times in history at 103 and 102, respectively. Last season, 111 players did it for the third triple-digit season league-wide. We’re probably going to see it again this year, too.

With drug-testing as stringent as ever and penalties for testing positive stronger than ever, it’s unreasonable to think that the surge in power is due to players continuing to use performance-enhancing drugs. The most popular theory these days to explain the power surge is a juiced baseball.

Ben Lindbergh of The Ringer asked Major League Baseball about it and they shared their research on the matter. Lindbergh received an 11-page document which detailed the league’s testing methodology and the results. The tests measured the baseballs’ weight, circumference, and coefficient of restitution (elasticity). The results showed that current era baseballs are not noticeably different than baseballs in the past. The league also asked physics professor and baseball physics expert Alan Nathan to independently review their research. Nathan said, “I saw nothing in the data that was presented that suggests that the ball has been altered at all.”

So, that’s that. Both Lindbergh and Nathan are still stumped about the explanation for the power surge, but the data shows that it’s not due to juiced baseballs.

Nevada Senate vote on proposed A’s stadium in Las Vegas extended until next week

Associated PressJun 9, 2023, 11:36 AM EDT
MLB: Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum
Robert Edwards-USA TODAY Sports
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CARSON CITY, Nev. — The Nevada Senate adjourned Thursday without voting on a financing bill for a proposed $1.5 billion Las Vegas Strip stadium for the Oakland Athletics, extending the special legislative session into the next week amid negotiations over whether to contribute $380 million in public funding to the project.

The measure can still be amended by lawmakers, and if it passes the Senate it would still need approval from the Assembly before going to the desk of Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo, who has expressed support for it. Both the state Senate and Assembly are adjourned until Monday.

In a hearing that began Wednesday and stretched into the early morning hours Thursday, lawmakers peppered tourism officials and a representative from a firm partnering with the ball club with questions about the feasibility and benefits of financing such a deal.

Public funds for the stadium would mainly come from $180 million in transferable tax credits and $120 million in county bonds. Backers have pledged that the creation of a special tax district around the proposed stadium would generate enough money to pay off those bonds and interest. The plan would not directly raise taxes.

The A’s would not owe property taxes for the publicly owned stadium. Clark County, which includes Las Vegas, would also contribute $25 million in credit toward infrastructure costs.

A’s representatives and some tourism officials say a deal would further grow Las Vegas’ developing sports scene and act as an economic engine, but a growing chorus of economists and some lawmakers warn that the project would bring minimal benefits for the hefty public price tag.