MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred Denies League Ever Altered Baseballs in Any Way
By Parker White
Houston Astros ace pitcher Justin Verlander took a moment during the ongoing All-Star festivities to give his unfiltered opinion about the changes he's noticed in the baseballs the league is currently using, as well as what he insists is the MLB's complicity in it.
Verlander believes the balls have been "juiced," leading to the incredible increase in home runs over the last couple of years, and he called out MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred as a result.
Naturally, the commish was asked about this heated topic.
Rob Manfred on the baseball conspiracy theories: “Baseball has done nothing, given no direction, for an alteration of the baseball.”
— Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) July 9, 2019
"Baseball has done nothing, given no direction, for an alteration of the baseball," Manfred said.
Hmmm. Okay.
Rob Manfred says MLB is being transparent about the baseballs this year.
— Tim Healey (@timbhealey) July 9, 2019
He says they’re still trying to figure out why the balls — made by Rawlings, owned by the league — are different this year.
Manfred concedes that the ball appears to be different and that it is traveling further, leading to a whole lot of homers. Strangely, he says that the league is trying to figure out why there's a change, because they themselves have nothing to do with it.
Okay, folks... so Rawlings, whom you pay to manufacture the balls, decided to make a highly consequential change without the league's knowledge? If that's true, then you have a whole separate problem.
If an Cy Young and World Series winner like Verlander is saying things are different, I'd trust him on that. He holds and throws baseball pretty much every day of his life. Something stinks here, and whether or not the MLB is innocent, the fans deserve an honest explanation.