MLBPA Boss Tony Clark Strongly Suggests He Believes Baseballs Are Getting Juiced
By Will Fowler

For the last few years, baseball fans have had the sneaking suspicion that official MLB baseballs are being juiced to produce more offense and increase viewership. Those suspicions have been confirmed, of course, by the crystal clear words of those who interact with the balls everyday, like Justin Verlander.
Those rumblings have reportedly made their way into the Major League Baseball Players' Association -- in fact, the boss of the organization that represents the athletes that play in the MLB has pounced on the theory.
Asked if he believes MLB changed the baseball on purpose, Tony Clark would only say: “I believe the ball suddenly changed. And I don’t know why.” pic.twitter.com/1HNimEsFVJ
— Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) July 9, 2019
There's no denying that home run and power numbers have skyrocketed over the past two years, and Monday night's Home Run Derby, which saw the previous record for home runs in a round get broken not once but three times, only added fuel to the fire.
Clark isn't the only big name that shares this sentiment; Verlander, the Astros ace and starting pitcher for the American League, became the latest in a long line of players to insinuate that of course the balls were different, and the league was behind it.
“We’re not idiots.” Verlander says the balls are juiced. He doesn’t beat around the bush, I like it. pic.twitter.com/IE3of7r6jI
— Zach Overholser (@zachoverholser) July 9, 2019
Are the baseballs juiced? Who knows. Does it make sense why they would be? Absolutely. MLB fandom and viewership has been falling in favor of other leagues like the NFL and NBA over the last 10 years, and an influx of offense could be the jolt that baseball needs to earn its way back into the spotlight.