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https://mlb.nbcsports.com/2019/12/1...ght-not-juiced-balls-for-2019-home-run-surge/
That conclusion would appear to only be partially accurate.
Dr. Meredith Wills, an astrophysicist who has been conducting her own research on baseballs and the home run explosion, published her own work on all of this in The Athletic last June. Wills concluded that, based on her examination of baseball seams and seam height, a key part of the manufacturing process ? the drying of damp, finished baseballs after assembly is complete ? likely did change.
Specifically, she concluded that seam height and decreased bulging of baseballs which led to less aerodynamic drag and farther ball flight was likely the result of Rawlings using heaters to dry balls, as opposed to the traditional air-drying, allowing them to produce more balls in a shorter period of time. Wills told NBC Sports this morning that she suspects Rawlings did this because many more balls were needed due to Major League Baseball mandating that Triple-A adopt the major league ball for the 2019 season.
As such, the key word in this morning?s report is ?intentional.? Wills:
That conclusion would appear to only be partially accurate.
Dr. Meredith Wills, an astrophysicist who has been conducting her own research on baseballs and the home run explosion, published her own work on all of this in The Athletic last June. Wills concluded that, based on her examination of baseball seams and seam height, a key part of the manufacturing process ? the drying of damp, finished baseballs after assembly is complete ? likely did change.
Specifically, she concluded that seam height and decreased bulging of baseballs which led to less aerodynamic drag and farther ball flight was likely the result of Rawlings using heaters to dry balls, as opposed to the traditional air-drying, allowing them to produce more balls in a shorter period of time. Wills told NBC Sports this morning that she suspects Rawlings did this because many more balls were needed due to Major League Baseball mandating that Triple-A adopt the major league ball for the 2019 season.
As such, the key word in this morning?s report is ?intentional.? Wills:
?The decrease in drag was very likely unintentional, but the change in the drying process would be intentional. No, they didn?t intend to juice the ball, but yes, they did make an intentional change to the manufacturing process. It was not ?manufacturing variability? it was deliberate process improvement to accommodate higher demand. ?Variability? makes it sound like it?s random or a mistake. It was not.?
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