It’s no secret that Major League Baseball has started to experiment with different baseballs and is using different balls this season than in years past.
Players and fans alike have criticized the league for experimenting with different balls and have commented on how these new baseballs do some weird things movement-wise.
Los Angeles Dodgers‘ star Chris Taylor has noticed it too.
Taylor hit a home run last night in Los Angeles’ 5-4 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks that barely snuck over the wall.
Dodgers insider Fabian Ardaya tweeted about what Taylor had to say regarding the different baseballs and how it may have affected his home run.
Chris Taylor: “I actually was surprised — I think it barely got out. And that's all I got…the balls are doing weird things this year. I don't know. I think it seems like the spin of the ball affects it a lot. So you really got to back spin it and hopefully get some extra carry.”
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) May 17, 2022
Different Baseballs
It’s common knowledge at this point that these baseballs are different from previously used baseballs.
The ball isn’t traveling as far as it was when the league was using the juiced balls.
Averages are also noticeably down from years past.
Obviously, it didn’t really hurt Taylor all that much, as the ball still left the yard, but if a different baseball was used, perhaps it would have carried further, especially given the warm climate of Los Angeles.
But it still only barely left the ballpark.
That and lower averages have been the driving force behind the argument that the baseballs being used today are much different than those used in previous years.
Spin rates are a factor too.
Taylor even said that the spin of the ball affects how far they travel when hit.
But it is clear that things are a little bit different in terms of the use of baseballs and that those balls are doing some odd things.
We’ll see if power numbers pick up here soon.
NEXT: Dodgers Starting To Show A Troubling Trend