Minor League Power Numbers Provide Obvious Proof MLB is Juicing Baseballs
By Michael Luciano
While the first people to claim that Rob Manfred and the MLB were doctoring baseballs in order to increase offense and home runs, most dismissed them as tin-foil hat conspiracy theorists. However, after a surge of power has taken over the league over the past few seasons, several pitchers have complained about the feel of the ball. And with more home runs hit already in 2019 than in all of 2014, the juiced ball believers have been gaining more credence by the day.
Now that Triple-A has decided to use the same baseball as the major leagues, a similar trend is occurring. Home runs have skyrocketed, further proving that something isn't right with the balls.
1. Yep, I'm Tweeting about the AAA ball again.
— JJ Cooper (@jjcoop36) July 26, 2019
In AAA right now, players are hitting HRs at 159 percent of the rate they hit them in 2018. Already, AAA hitters have hit 788 more HRs than AAA hit in all of 2018.
Here's what's amazing. At AA/HiA/LoA, HR rates are actually down.
In places that have a high altitude, like Albuquerque or Las Vegas, it's become an absolute joke. Every hitter in Triple-A looks like Mike Trout, while every pitcher has become Dan Straily. It's becoming nigh impossible to evaluate talent at that level.
When home run rate is DOWN at the levels which do not use the Rawlings ball the pros use, the MLB's insistence that the balls aren't juiced rings hollow.
4. If anyone hasn't been following me I should clarify. In 2018 all the minors used the MiLB ball. This year, only AAA switched to the MLB ball. So we have an experiment with (arguably) one variable and the HR rate has skyrocketed, only at the level with the changed ball.
— JJ Cooper (@jjcoop36) July 26, 2019
Players who are not typically power hitters are launching balls out of the park at ridiculous rates, in both Triple-A and the MLB. Manfred will continue to deny having juiced the balls, but it sure seems as if the proof is all out on the table.