Do other hitters share his opinion on manipulation of baseballs?
Brittany Ghiroli, MLB senior writer: They do, Alonso said as much. Players have no say over the baseballs, meaning the league is free to tinker and change what they want. When there are careers and millions of dollars at stake, it's not a stretch to see how it would anger players, both pitchers and hitters who are forced to deal with it.
The new baseballs are a factor in the declining offense and an important one, in that MLB has sole say in what is used and developed.
Eno Sarris, MLB senior writer: There's definitely shared consternation across the game when it comes to the changing baseball from year to year, though it may not always come with this specific link to salaries and arbitration.
Every year, we find out that the ball has changed in a way that will increase or decrease home runs, and that's a big part of how players are paid. The ball has come back from a peak bounciness in 2019 to be more favorable to pitchers this year, but proving that MLB did this to suppress a certain group of salaries seems like a stretch.
How has MLB changed the baseball?
Sarris: This year, MLB announced it was deadening the core of the ball but also making the ball lighter. This resulted in a ball that isn't flying as far, and has turned some home runs into outs.
The ball is flying faster because it's lighter, but drag is up — which could suggest that the seams are, on average, higher. Theoretically, that should mean that pitchers can get a better grip on the ball. But historically, the MLB ball has been viewed as one the slickest among the various professional and amateur leagues.
Do these issues go hand in hand?
Ghiroli: Of course, these issues are related. As I wrote this morning, the league has to be held accountable for being part of the problem because "cutting-edge organizations, several of whom employ actual chemists, had found the perfect sticky formula and the league had handed them an even better baseball for pitchers to manipulate."
It's truly a double whammy, with some in the sport believing we wouldn't have seen this kind of stark spin-rate uptick without both the substances and the new baseball.
(Photo: Denis Poroy / Getty Images)
"use" - Google News
June 10, 2021 at 04:48AM
https://ift.tt/3wasyuC
Mets' Pete Alonso: 'Don't care' about pitcher use of foreign substances for grip - The Athletic
"use" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2P05tHQ
https://ift.tt/2YCP29R
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Mets' Pete Alonso: 'Don't care' about pitcher use of foreign substances for grip - The Athletic"
Post a Comment