SUNDAY,MAY 15 , 2022 .THEWASHINGTONPOST EZ M2 D3
prototype to helpmeetpitchers
halfway. If thatball is wellre-
viewedandbig leaguersdecide
theylikeit, too, it couldarriveas
soonas 2023—but pre-tacked
balls introduce newvariables,
too.
Changingthe surface of the
baseballmightchangeits flight.
And even if it doesn’t,hand-
stitchedballs meanhand-
stitchedseams:Optimizingcon-
sistencywillnever meancom-
plete uniformity. Butinthe ageof
data-drivenbaseball,the goal is
always to inchcloserto perfec-
tion,even in asportthatsorarely
allowsit.NeilGreenbergcontributedtothis
report.you’renot allowedtouse batting
glovesanymore.They’d be like,
whatdoyou mean?”
MLBarguesthatunlikesticky
substances,batting gloveswere
never againstthe rulesin the first
place.But it is tryingto address
the gripquestionanyway.
Multiplepitcherssuggested a
more standardized process of
rubbingthe ballswithmudbe-
foreuse, and MLBhas seemingly
begun trying to embrace that
suggestion:Instead of havingto
complete the processafew days
aheadof time,the baseballsnow
mustbemuddedthe dayofthe
game.
Similarly,apre-tacked ballis
beingtested in the Texas League,
the secondrecentattemptat aHistorical on-baseplus slugginginMLB
Throughthefirst25gamesof theseason.Source:Tr uMedia NEILGREENBERG/THEWASHINGTONPOSTThe 2020 regularseasonwasomittedbecauseof aJulystartdate.1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 2020.600.620.640.660.680.700.720.740.760.780.676Expectedhomerunsarebasedofftheexitvelocityandlaunchangleof each
ballputinplay.Source:TruMedia NEILGREENBERG/THEWASHINGTONPOSTThroughthefirst 25gamesof the 2022 regularseason.Homerunshit compared
with expectedhomerunsin 2022KauffmanStadiumOriolePark at CamdenYardsTr uistParkGlobeLife FieldBuschStadiumChaseFieldProgressiveFieldLoanDepotParkNationalsParkOaklandColiseumPNCParkRogersCentreTr opicanaFieldAngelStadiumGuaranteedRateFieldComericaParkFenwayParkOracleParkTarget FieldWrigleyFieldAmericanFamilyFieldCitiFieldDodgerStadiumT-MobileParkGreat AmericanBallParkMinuteMaidParkPetcoParkCitizensBankParkCoorsFieldYankeeStadium32213237312414272418204036342319151830233623191615182223273119362319161619232632371123292417923201416363231201714172922HR XHR510152025303540BaseballWhilepitchersaroundthe game
agree thatsome of their col-
leagueshadsimplygone too far
with stickysubstances, many
pitchers express frustration
aboutthe lackof tacknowon the
surfaceof baseballs.
After watchinghis teammates
gethit by errant pitches19 times
in the firstfew weeks of the
season,Mets starter Chris Bassitt
blamedMLBfor whathecalled
“slippery” baseballs, suggesting
thatabsentsomekindof stickier
substance,pitcherscannotgrip
baseballssafelywithrosinalone.
Bassitt, whobeganplaySaturday
witha2.45ERA withthe best
strikeout-to-walkratio of his ca-
reer,seemsto be overcomingthat
issuejustfine. Across themajors,
hit-by-pitchnumbersweredown
throughthe first25gamesof the
season.
But the questionof consisten-
cy becomescentral to pitchersin
differentways. Somepitchersare
affected by havingto makethose
adjustmentsmorethanothers.
Veteran BaltimoreOriolesstarter
JordanLyles explainedthathis
target changesentirelybasedon
the waythe ball feelsin his hands.
If he wantsto throwacurveball
but the seamsfeel low or the ball
feelsslippery, he aimsmuchlow-
er.
“If you throwit likeanormal
curveball,it slipsandit willgo
higher,” Lyles said.“Sometimes
you end up less confidentin your
breakingballsandleanon fast-
balls.So hitterswillstop worry-
ing aboutbreakingballsand just
sit on the fastballbecausethey
knowaguy doesn’t know where
thebreakingball is going.”
Adjustmentshave always been
partofthe gamefor pitchers.But
whattheywant, Lyles and others
say, is to have to makefewer.
“Hitting is the hardestthing to
do in sports. No question,”
McHugh said.“. .. Butit feels
antiquated to me. Like, do we not
have abetter fixfor this?
“Whatiftheyjusttold hittersBalls muststaythere for two
weeksbefore theycan be usedfor
play.
But even consistent storage
can’t staveoff other variables,
and the humidorshave created a
slightlywetter baseballthatisnot
travelingas far.The morehumid
the baseballrelativeto the air
through which it travels, the
shorter its flightwill be. Earlyin
the season,whenthe weatheris
coldand the air relativelydry
aroundthe country, thatflight
hasbeenmorelimitedthanin
pastyears.
Baseballofficialssaytheyex-
pected ballflightto dip earlyin
the season butthattheyalso
expecttosee achangeasweather
warmsandair growsmorehu-
mid.
MeredithWills,whohas aPhD
in astrophysics and has been
studyingMLB’sballsfor years,
said she isn’t surethatmore
humidnightswillrestorewhat
looksto be averydeadballto
averageflight.She said she thinks
the changes MLBmadeto the ball
with the intentionof creating
greater consistencyinthe COR
mayhavecreated inconsistency
in otherareas.
“I suspectwhatwemightbe
seeingwiththis deadball and the
2019 ball andall the thingsthat
happened sinceMLB bought
Rawlingsisthis,”Wills said.“One
of the bestwaystobreaksome-
thingis to trytofix something
thatwasn’tbroken to beginwith.”
Pitchers, meanwhile, do not
seem nearly as worried about
howfar the ballwill fly in April
vs. June. Their definitionof a
consistent baseball is one on
whichtheycan getaconsistent
grip,withseamsat predictable
heights and mudapplied uni-
formly.
Griphas beenin the spotlight
sincebaseballcracked downon
the use of stickysubstanceslast
summer,limitingplayersto the
use of anow-standardizedHon-
duran rosinand theirownsweat.beforethe 2021seasonso thatit
wouldhave alowerandmore
consistentcoefficientof restitu-
tion,or COR.The CORrefers to
the amountof energylostduring
impact. Thehigherthe COR,the
bouncierthe ball.
Andwhilethebaseballsthe
leagueusedin 2019 and 2020had
aCOR thatwas withinthe range
specified in the rulebook,they
wereaveraginganumberin the
highend.In 2018,12.7percentof
flyballsendedup as homeruns.
In 2019,thatratehad grownto
15.3percent.
BeyondmeasuringCOR,Alan
Nathan,aUniversityofIllinois
physicistwho has previouslyad-
visedMLBon baseballs,studied
drag —the force thatworks
oppositethe flightof the ball,
causedby the wayair moves
aroundthe seamsandsurface.
Nathanstudiedhomerunshit
between April18 and April22 and
concludedthatthe 2022 baseball
experiencesmore drag in flight
thanit did in April2021,in 2019
or 2018. Theballs are not onlyless
bouncythisseasonbut alsoless
aerodynamic.
ButMLBofficialsinsistthat
consistency, more than any
doggedmanipulationof on-field
outcomes,has beenat the heart
of decisionsabout theball in
recentyears.
Before this season, MLB’s
homeruncommittee suggested
installinghumidors—climate-
controlledclosets, basically—at
all 30 parks.Thegoalwas to
standardizenot onlythe waythe
baseball traveledbut also the
tackinesspitchersfelt whilegrip-
pingit. Baseballmandated that
29 of its 30 teamsinstall humi-
dorsin theirstadiumsandset
themeachto 57 percenthumidity
and70 degrees. Theexception
was in Colorado,to accountfor its
altitude.
Each humidorholds about
2,400baseballs,storedin boxes
labeledwiththe dates on which
eachwas placed on theshelf.to adapt to the ballvs. working
aroundit?
Andif smallchanges to the
baseballcan affectperformance,
and MLBis in aposition to
controlsmallchanges to the base-
ball ...well,whatoncefelt likea
quirk—such as differentdimen-
sionsfromone parkto anotheror
the preferences of umpires —
starts to feel likeabug.Players
have floated everything from
MLBalteringballsto decrease
freeagent earnings to juicing
themfor the sakeofmore excit-
ing nationallytelevised games,
all charges MLBofficialsdeny.
But several veteran pitchers
saythatwhilefastballsslipping
up andin often startthese con-
versations,theyare not the most
regular issue thatarises from
inconsistent grip. They argue
thatslightlyhigherseamsor a
slightlychalkier surface forces
themto makeadjustmentsthat
aren’t requiredof hitters.
In the firstmonthof the sea-
son,10.3percentof flyballstrav-
eledfor homeruns,the lowest
percentagesince 2014.And while
ashortenedspringtraininglimit-
ed howmuchhitters couldwork
on timing andexpandedApril
rosters meant moreat-bats
againstfresh relievers, that little
whitespherewiththe red seams
remainsat the centerof debate.
This kindof talkusedto be
whisperedin the yearsafter MLB
bought its ball manufacturer,
Rawlings,in 2018. It grewlouder
whenhomerunsspiked in 2019,
thenagainwhenMLBconfirmed
it had madechanges to the base-
ballaheadof the 2021season,
thenadmitted it hadusedtwo
differentballsbecauseof produc-
tionissuescausedby the pan-
demic.
Those issuesare resolvednow,
accordingto an MLBofficial who
spokeonthe conditionof ano-
nymity. That officialexplained
thatMLB reworked the baseball
BASEBALL FROM D1
In MLB, everybody’s eye is on the ball
ALEXBRANDON/ASSOCIATEDPRESSJ.D.DavisandtheMetswereenragedaboutgettinghit bypitchesthisseason,andsomeblametheslicknessofthebaseballsbeingused.
BYCHELSEAJANESThree-and-a-half years had
passed since Dusty Bakerlast
managed agame at Nationals
Park. As he satonthe benchin the
visitors’dugout on asticky,gray
Fridayafternoon,he countedthe
timein cranes.
“They’re doingalot of building
aroundhere.Man, Isure wishI
wasinvested in acouplebuild-
ings. Or in some big cranes,”
Baker said,peeringout beyond
the outfieldfence,whereapart-
mentbuildingsfill the spacethat
existed there 31 / 2 yearsago.
As is hisway in almostevery
big league cityand especially
thosein whichhe has managed,
Baker spenthis firsthoursin
Washington huntingdownan old
friendin the areaby Nationals
Park. He had beento thatfriend’s
homemanytimesbefore,but this
time,he said,he couldn’t find it.
Toomuch had changed. TheNa-
tionalsare nearlyunrecognizable
fromhis time,too.
SinceBaker lastmanaged here
in Game5ofthe 2017 National
LeagueDivisionSeries,the Na-
tionals slewOctober demons,
wonaWorld Seriesand watched
an entirebeloved core depart.
Onlyoneplayer fromthe 2017
NLDSroster,Victor Robles, is
active this weekend againstBak-
er’s chargingAstros —winnersof
11 straightbeforetheylost, 13-6,
on Saturday. Hisformerplayer
andfishingbuddy,DaveMarti-
nez,sits whereBaker usedto sit
in the homedugout —justlike
Baker tookhis formerplayer Matt
Williams’sseatthere after the
2015 season.
“Itwasn’t awkward’causeit
wasn’t Davey’sfault,”Baker said
of watching his job go to a
manager withno experienceafter
leading the Nationals to two
straight playoffruns, both of
whichendedafew outsshortof
the leaguechampionshipseries.
“Davey’sagreat choice. Davey
played for me. Daveywas one of
my favoriteplayers.He learneda
lot frombeingaroundJoeMad-
don. Davey’saverygood manag-
er,and he’s an excellentfisher-
man.”
Baker has operated in proximi-
ty to his formerteamfor three
seasons,sharingthe Astros’West
Palm Beachspringtraininghomewiththe Nationals. He has
watchedhis son,Darren,estab-
lish himselfas aNationalsminor
leaguer.The mutualrespecthe
shareswithMartinezwasclear
one spring training afternoon
whenMartinezsurprisedBaker
by sendinghis son out withthe
Nationals’lineupcardas his fa-
therbroughtout the Astros’.
“Weremained friends
throughoutthe years.Whatwe
do on the field,whatwedo, is
somethingdifferentthanthe re-
lationshipwe have offthe field.
We shareapassionfor wine.We
shareapassionfor fishing,” Mar-
tinezsaid.“So,likeIsaid,I’ve
learned alot not only in the
baseballworldbut as whohe is
andwho he perceives to be
helped me becometheperson
thatIamaswell.”
Neithermanwouldsayso, but
if thereis anyawkwardnessto
theirrelationship,it stemsfrom
thatitwas Martinez,not Baker,
whowonthe World Seriesthe
Nationalsbrought Baker in to
win. Baker and the Nationals
weresupposedto complete each
other,tohelp each otherend
yearsof Octoberdisappointmentand win theirfirsttitlestogether.
As it happened,the Nationalsgot
theirswithouthim.Andafter his
banged-up Astros fell in six
gamesto the AtlantaBraves in
lastyear’s World Series,Baker is
still waitingfor his.
But after becomingjustthe
12th manager in big leaguehis-torytorecord2,000winsthis
season,the 72-year-oldisn’t wait-
ingonmuch else in his career.He
has managed so manyplacesthat
he is accustomedto returningto
old haunts—and beinggreeted
withwarmtheven in stadiums
wherehe oncefelt left outinthe
cold.“Mostofthe time,theyseem
liketheyappreciate me more
whenIcamebackthanwhenI
left,” saidBaker,whomthe Na-
tionalsacknowledged withatrib-
ute on the video screen just
before Fridaynight’s game.
“The good thingis, I’ve seena
lot of peoplethatwere still here,
even whenIleft,”Baker said.“A
lot of the auxiliarypeople,people
in the clubhouse,securityguards,
the peopleIreallyappreciated
whenIwas here,andIfelt a
closenessto them.”
Fans aren’t pilingintoNation-
als Park as reliablyas theydid
whenBaker managed thosestar-
studded teams, butthosewho
werethereat gametimeFriday
nightcheeredhim.Somehow,a
pandemic,aWorld Series title
and ahalf-dozen apartment
buildingshad emerged sincethey
had the chanceto saythank you.
“I hadgreatmemories here.
Thepeopleweregreat. Ienjoyed
the town,”Baker said.“LikeI’ve
saidmanytimes,Ienjoyedthe
diversity, the educationallevel
here.Foratwo-yearperiod,this is
probablyas good of aperiodas
I’ve had anywhere.”Ex-Nats manager Bakeris back with ared-hot team and an ever-open heartNICKWASS/ASSOCIATEDPRESS
“Ihadgreatmemorieshere,”saidAstrosManagerDustyBaker,
whomtheNationalsacknowledgedbeforeFridaynight’sgame.