Juiced Ball 2021

[UberRebel 580]

Sooo umm... apparently MLB changing the baseballs again. How do we adjust strategies and player valuation?

[TheForearmShiver 357]

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? 

[Ecofolux 242]

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. 

[The Big Bat Theory 7,608]

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/

 

[crafty 304]

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/

[Sidearmer 2,226]

If these changes are real, this could be a massive year for pitchers.

[shakestreet 4,113]

I really like this ... Less amount of runs will shorten the game. Let’s get it under 3 hours. 

[The Big Bat Theory 7,608]

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.

[posty 1,381]

If true, hopefully there will be more pitching duels this season...

[SpecialFNK 1,485]

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.

[AF25 105]

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?

[svdude 333]

Would be nice to know the 5 new parks with humidors.  Has anyone seen anything on that?

[The Big Bat Theory 7,608]

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.

[Sidearmer 2,226]

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.

[BIGMIKE1026 3]

I mean, everybody is going to be using the same ball, right?

[BIGMIKE1026 3]

or same kind of ball rather

[UberRebel 580]

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

[TheForearmShiver 357]

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?

[Fielder1831 140]

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.