re: 2020-2021 MLB Offseason Thread

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MLB is changing the baseballs “slightly” to control the home run rate in recent years per Rosenthal

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You mean the baseballs that MLB totally didn't alter that lead to the totally coincidental spike in home runs? Those baseballs?

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The new ball will be reduced in weight by under one-tenth of an ounce, and will also be slightly less bouncy (as determined by the coefficient of restitution, or COR).  While the end result of these changes won’t be entirely known until we see the baseball in action during the season, the changes seem to have been made in order to “increase consistency in the ball” and also deaden it to some extent.  An independent lab cited in the league memo detailed a reduction by one or two feet of distance on fly balls hit beyond 375 feet, and an analyst who spoke with Sarris and Rosenthal believes “it’ll be like adding five feet of outfield walls to every wall in the big leagues.”  The analyst believes an overall five percent reduction in home runs is possible, though it isn’t yet known how the newer ball will be affected by drag.

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