Houston Astros star Justin Verlander made news earlier in the week when he blasted MLB and Commissioner Rob Manfred over juiced baseball.
Verlander’s comments come during a 2019 season that will likely break the all-time mark for homers. They also come with teams on record-setting paces.
In talking about this and more, MLBPA Executive Director Tony Clark did not put out the fire. In fact, he believes that there’s something different about the baseballs this season.
It really is hard to argue with that. Heck, Monday night’s Home Run Derby included record-setting performance after record-setting performance.
Stats don’t lie. Balls are being hit out of the park at a record clip. It really has been something to behold.
Conspiracy theorists out there have concluded that MLB decided to juice balls as a way to increase interest in the sport with NFL still being North America’s top dog and the NBA finding itself in a vastly improved position.
One has to wonder how much of a role this might play in ongoing Collective Bargaining Talks with the current CBA set to expire in 2021.