:|
Printable View
:|
By Bradford Betz | Fox News
https://i.imgur.com/FNmEw94l.jpg
Houston Astros pitcher Justin Verlander on Monday blamed the League’s uptick in home runs on baseballs that have supposedly been “juiced.”
Verlander made the claim during an interview with ESPN. He surmised that baseballs have been “juiced,” or altered because they are manufactured by an MLB-owned company.
“It’s a fucking joke. Major League Baseball’s turning this game into a joke. They own Rawlings, and you’ve got (MLB Commissioner Rob) Manfred up here saying it might be the way they center the pill. They own the fucking company,” Verlander said. “We all know what happened. Manfred the first time he came in, what’d he say? He said we want more offense. All of a sudden he comes in, the balls are juiced? It’s not coincidence. We’re not idiots.”
But as reported by Deadspin, a spike in home runs had been observed for at least two years when MLB purchased Rawlings last summer.
Recent changes in baseballs have made them more aerodynamic, producing less drag in flight but weren’t necessarily “juiced” to increase home runs as Verlander has claimed, the report said.
MLB did not immediately respond to Fox News' request for comment.
Of course they have.
Yu Darvish decision log YTD 2019 (19 starts, 2-4, 4.72 ERA)
- No decision
- Loss
- Loss
- Win
- Loss
- Win
- No decision
- No decision
- No decision
- No decision
- No decision
- No decision
- No decision
- No decision
- No decision
- No decision
- Loss
- No decision
- No decision
13 No Decisions
:facepalm:
How is it possible to get so many ND's? :huh:
By David Aaro | Fox News
An outfielder in the independent Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) made history on Saturday in Maryland by becoming the first baseball player to steal first base in a professional game.
During a game between the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs and the Lancaster Barnstormers, Tony Thomas, 33, was at bat in the bottom of the 6th inning when an errant pitch bounced behind the catcher and toward the backstop.
Thanks to a new experimental rule change in the Atlantic League, he was able to steal first and make history.
The rule stated that batters may “steal” first base on any pitch not caught in flight and the batter may be thrown out if he tries to run, according to an MLB/ALPB press release that described the changes.
"It was just something that I never thought I'd be a part of," Thomas said. "The [pitcher] was on the mound, wasn't consistent around the strike zone and I found a way to get our team on base and the opportunity presented itself. It wasn't something I thought about going into, but when I saw the ball stuck underneath the backdrop I knew I had no shot of getting me out at first base, so I took off and went."
He continued, "In the process of looking back to see where the ball went, I actually saw [the catcher] Anderson sticking his hand up to the umpire for the ball because it's [usually an] automatic passed ball. I saw it submerge and I took off because I knew at that time in the game our team needed base runners."
The outfielder made it to first base without a throw from the catcher on a 0-1 count.
Other rule debuts in the independent league included the use of electronic strike zones, which have been labeled "robot umpires." In the Atlantic League All-Star game this past Wednesday, the home plate umpire had an earpiece hooked up to an iPhone that tracked balls and strikes using radar.
Other changes include moving the pitcher's mound back to increase offensive production and allowing a player one foul bunt on two strikes before he's called out. In the MLB, if a player bunts the ball foul on two strikes, he is automatically ruled out.
"We need to see how it works, first in the Atlantic League and then probably other places, meaning other parts of minor league baseball, before it comes to Major League Baseball. We kind of feel it's incumbent on us to figure out whether we could make it work. And that's what we're doing," said Manfred.
:okwith:
Rachel England, endgadget
https://i.imgur.com/u6hABOXl.jpg
Earlier this year YouTube announced an exclusive 13-game streaming deal with Major League Baseball -- and it's starting today. If you're in the USA, Canada or Puerto Rico you'll be able to watch a live MLB game of the week, every week of the regular season, no fees or sign-in required. And you won't be able to watch these games anywhere else. Today's game -- Dodgers vs Phillies -- starts at 12:30pm ET / 09:30am PT. Head over to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aTUbhnYrKs to watch it live.
And of course the Phillies are losing.
Oh, we're leading now.
You can't stop a fucking ground ball that's coming right at you? You're fired.
Yay! We won in spite of ourselves.