I used the word UNBELIEVABLE on a lot of tweets this summer. I also added this phrase to my twitter bio: You’re no fool and yet you choose not to see it
And to that I am talking to the baseball media, including at least one extra special person who reads my stuff. You guys know better, and nobody says anything.
Well, it seems that in the season I which Aaron Judge hit an unbelievable 62 Home Runs, there were at least three baseballs. An explosive report says…
Though the overwhelming majority of baseballs we obtained were dead, 36 of them fit the bill for what Wills dubbed the “Goldilocks ball” (not too heavy, not too light — but just right). Of those, most were found in one of three situations:
• Postseason games, including the World Series;
• The All-Star Game and Home Run Derby;
• Regular season games that used balls with special commemorative stamps (i.e. Texas Rangers 50th anniversary ball) on the outer leather.
The only Goldilocks balls we obtained from the regular season that did not have commemorative stamps were found in Yankees games.
Ummmmm……weird right? Insider adds
In the sample we accumulated, nearly all of our specialty-marked balls were Goldilocks, while the standard, MLB-stamped balls were almost always the dead ball.
There were, however, 20 exceptions — Goldilocks balls that bore no specialty markings on their covers. We found:
Nine in the postseason across four playoff rounds;
11 obtained from Yankees games.…
According to two sources familiar with MLB’s ball shipment process, the league not only directs where its balls are sent, it also knows which boxes its game compliance monitors – league employees tasked with ensuring each team adheres to league rules – approve and use before each game starts.
This is a fascinating read which quotes several players including Scherzer and Bassitt.
And remember, as I always point out, when you see some sort of unbelievable display of power, you should always be wary. This never ends well, and here we go again.
