Rob Manfred can't explain exactly why baseballs are flying into stands at a record pace this season, but he's eliminating one idea.
Earlier this month, The Ringer's Ben Lindbergh, in collaboration with sabermetrician Mitchel Lichtman, brought speculation of juiced baseballs into the forefront when their research suggested an unexplained change in the ball was contributing to a higher home run count in 2017.
But while Manfred can entertain the bold notion that baseballs are somehow inherently different this season, he confesses he only wishes he had the foresight necessary to have carried out that plan despite baseball's improved power numbers.
"I understand that people like conspiracy theories," Manfred told Yahoo Sports' Jeff Passan. "I wish that I were a) smart enough or b) effective enough to, in the middle of the season, figure out a way to effectuate this sort of change. I would be way better at my job if I were smart enough to pull that off. I understand there is a change that is difficult to explain.
"The other side of that coin is that to hypothesize that we somehow had a plan that we implemented in the middle of the season that effectuated that sort of change strains credulity."
Currently, teams are hitting approximately 1.28 home runs per game, well above the record 1.17 crushed in 2000.
Most home runs hit in 1 season:
| Year | HR | HR/G |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 5693 | 1.17 |
| 2016 | 5610 | 1.16 |
| 1999 | 5528 | 1.14 |
| 2001 | 5458 | 1.12 |
(Courtesy: Baseball-Reference.com)
Though tests run by outside parties suggest baseballs are behaving differently, Manfred is adamant MLB's testing absolves them of any suspicions.
"We have tested the baseball really thoroughly and consistently over a period of time," Manfred told Passan. "I know others have tested it and have said certain things.
"Our test results from the labs we believe are the most skilled in this suggest there is nothing about the baseball that can account for the increase in home runs."
