UberRebel 580 Posted February 9 Share Posted February 9 Sooo umm... apparently MLB changing the baseballs again. How do we adjust strategies and player valuation? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TheForearmShiver 359 Posted February 9 Share Posted February 9 1 hour ago, UberRebel said: Sooo umm... apparently MLB changing the baseballs again. How do we adjust strategies and player valuation? What did they do? Juice it or unjuice it? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ecofolux 246 Posted February 9 Share Posted February 9 The Athletic suggested a 5% decrease in HRs, but truth is no one knows exactly. I'm going to lower expectations for certain players who crushed it in 2019. Players who had skepticism for their "overachieving" 2019 performances. Players like: Bregman, Torres, K Marte, Meadows to name a few. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The Big Bat Theory 7,697 Posted February 9 Share Posted February 9 19 minutes ago, TheForearmShiver said: What did they do? Juice it or unjuice it? Unjuice some. Also 5 teams have been using the humidor already apparently, not just the D-Backs and Rockies. And 5 more teams will start using it. Details about all of this: https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/mlb-planning-changes-to-the-baseball-in-effort-to-reduce-home-run-rate-fluctuation-per-report/ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crafty 305 Posted February 9 Share Posted February 9 I don’t subscribe to The Athletic, so I’m not sure if this covers everything, but it seems to offer a decent explanation: https://www.bleachernation.com/cubs/2021/02/08/mlb-is-trying-to-de-juice-the-baseball-again/ 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sidearmer 2,226 Posted February 9 Share Posted February 9 If these changes are real, this could be a massive year for pitchers. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
shakestreet 4,135 Posted February 9 Share Posted February 9 I really like this ... Less amount of runs will shorten the game. Let’s get it under 3 hours. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The Big Bat Theory 7,697 Posted February 9 Share Posted February 9 54 minutes ago, shakestreet said: I really like this ... Less amount of runs will shorten the game. Let’s get it under 3 hours. Less runs does not shorten the game. Getting the pitcher to throw the ball and the batter to stay in the batter's box shortens the game. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
posty 1,408 Posted February 9 Share Posted February 9 If true, hopefully there will be more pitching duels this season... 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SpecialFNK 1,492 Posted February 10 Share Posted February 10 isn't there a list somewhere with average HR distance for players in 2020, and I would imagine this would impact those with smaller distance more than those that crushed the ball more. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AF25 105 Posted February 10 Share Posted February 10 Not sure the threshold of average HR distance to go with to determine which players will mostly be affected and obviously this depends on many variables like spread of HR location for each player, the ballpark the said player plays in... etc.. But someone mentioned an article the suggested a 5% reduction in HR; so using 400 ft. as the threshold for HR (I know left and right field walls are shorter); But here is the data of average HR distance by player: https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/statcast_leaderboard. So can we say that anyone with an average HR distance of 380 or below will mostly get effected? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
svdude 341 Posted February 10 Share Posted February 10 Would be nice to know the 5 new parks with humidors. Has anyone seen anything on that? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The Big Bat Theory 7,697 Posted February 10 Share Posted February 10 4 hours ago, svdude said: Would be nice to know the 5 new parks with humidors. Has anyone seen anything on that? I haven't but it was news to me that the Red Sox, Mets and Mariners have already been using humidors and not just the Rockies and D-Backs alone. I'm obviously a Sox fan and I missed that news here. Wonder how long these three teams have been using humidors. And yeah I would be greatly interested in who the five new teams are too. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sidearmer 2,226 Posted February 11 Share Posted February 11 5 hours ago, The Big Bat Theory said: I haven't but it was news to me that the Red Sox, Mets and Mariners have already been using humidors and not just the Rockies and D-Backs alone. I'm obviously a Sox fan and I missed that news here. Wonder how long these three teams have been using humidors. And yeah I would be greatly interested in who the five new teams are too. Mets fan here, had no idea the Mets had one either. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BIGMIKE1026 3 Posted February 14 Share Posted February 14 I mean, everybody is going to be using the same ball, right? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BIGMIKE1026 3 Posted February 14 Share Posted February 14 or same kind of ball rather Quote Link to post Share on other sites
UberRebel 580 Posted February 15 Author Share Posted February 15 10 hours ago, BIGMIKE1026 said: I mean, everybody is going to be using the same ball, right? Of course. But... Some SPs are more prone to HRs than others Some hitters may have had “just enough” power to get HRs with the old ball and potentially not with the new ball. The small things make a difference especially when you’re dealing with so many batted ball events 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TheForearmShiver 359 Posted February 17 Share Posted February 17 It sounds like the drag coefficient will be changed with higher seams on the ball. Along with the ball being wound less tight. High seams to me stands out as a recipe for even greater success for high spin pitchers. Seemingly, or seamingly, the Reds are a team that has focused heavily on increased spin rates across their pitching staff with incredible results thanks to the work they’re doing under Reds’ pitching coach Derek Johnson. Could even be the reason Trevor Bauer became elite as he has one of the best spin rates in the game now. That said, who are guys to target outside of the obvious, Mahle, Antone, etc., from the Reds? Are there other coaches/staffs similar to Derek Johnson we should be keeping an eye on? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Fielder1831 140 Posted February 18 Share Posted February 18 On 2/15/2021 at 3:17 AM, UberRebel said: Of course. But... Some SPs are more prone to HRs than others Some hitters may have had “just enough” power to get HRs with the old ball and potentially not with the new ball. The small things make a difference especially when you’re dealing with so many batted ball events Yes, it will be interesting to see what the MLB landscape looks like this year. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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