Could Verlander Have An Argument?

Over the past number of years in Major League Baseball, there has been a rise in the number of home runs being hit around the league. At the pace that things are going right now, baseball will have a record for most in a season when all is said and done. Funny thing is, we're getting a differing opinion of what's going on with the baseballs. Baseball says nothings wrong. Justin Verlander, star pitcher for the Houston Astros, as other ideas.

"It's a f------ joke," Verlander told ESPN. "Major League Baseball's turning this game into a joke. They own Rawlings, and you've got Manfred up here saying it might be the way they center the pill. They own the f------ company. If any other $40 billion company bought out a $400 million company and the product changed dramatically, it's not a guess as to what happened. We all know what happened. Manfred the first time he came in, what'd he say? He said we want more offense. All of a sudden he comes in, the balls are juiced? It's not coincidence. We're not idiots."

So, naturally, baseball had to respond. And they did.

"Baseball has done nothing, given no direction for an alteration in the baseball," Manfred told reporters Tuesday. "The flaw in logic is that baseball wants more home runs. If you sat in owners meetings and listen to people on how the game is played, that is not a sentiment among the owners for whom I work." Manfred also said "there is no evidence from scientists that the ball is harder" but acknowledged that "the drag of the baseball is less."

The numbers are eye popping. By ESPN’s math, players hit 3,691 homers in the first half of the season and are on pace to hit 6,668 total this season, which would demolish the previous record of 6,105 in 2017. The phenomenon has also been observed in the Triple-A leagues, which are using MLB baseballs for the first time this year (Yahoo Sports).

Verlander may have a valid argument. It seems like balls are leaving the yard at an alarming rate. Some could look at it as sour grapes considering that Verlander has given up the most home runs of any pitcher in baseball during the first half, a grand total of 26. But Verlander isn't the only one complaining. Masahiro Tanaka, CC Sabathia, Marcus Stroman, Jacob deGrom and others have also voiced their concern about what appear to be changes with the baseballs. These guys should know better than anybody else as to whether or not something is different, they handle the ball more than anybody else on the field, they do it on every single play.

From baseball's perspective, they want to try and get a rise in scoring. Pitchers are throwing a lot harder, the game has changed so much over the last decade plus. So it wouldn't shock me that baseball would be doing something like this. They're trying to speed the game up, so why not try and increase scoring right? How about this for a novel idea. Instead of trying to hit towering home runs, just swing and make contact? That can put runs on the board all the same, in my book.Verlander might have an argument over the ball being tampered with. Major League Baseball did buy the company that makes the balls used during games. Something isn't right here. Of course, baseball is going to deny it, but the fact that it's not just Verlander coming out with this argument means somethings up. It might be a case of pitchers trying to get into hitters heads, but at the same time it could be a legit complaint on the part of the pitchers.

Sure, watching balls fly out of the park is fun to watch, but baseball is so much more than that. Its about being able ti hit to all fields,  To go the other way. Sure the power hitters are nice, but watching guys like Ken Griffey Jr and Tony Gwynn hit back in the day was as much fun as watching guys club home runs out of the park.