Baseballs Next Era

On August 31st, Twins catcher Mitch Garver crushes a 93mph fastball thrown by Matthew Boyd over the left field wall. This was the 268th home run hit by Minnesota in 2019 which broke the Major League record for most team home runs in a single season.

There are records broken every season by both individual players and the teams they’re on. Records like ‘most grand slams in a single inning’, which happens to be 2, hit by Fernando Tatis back in 1999 against the Dodgers, or ‘single season loss record by a team’, when the Cleveland Spiders lost 134 games in 1899. So what makes a team home run record have such a large significance?

The fact the Twins pulled this off doesn’t matter; although they will be a good point of reference for us. What matters is that it did happen, and the time frame it happened in. The previous home run record was broken just last year by the New York Yankees who mashed 267 homers in a full 162 regular season games. The Twins did it in only 135 games and are on pace to hit 332 by seasons end. The more notable statistic is that 4 teams (including Twins) have, or are on pace to surpass last season’s record, including the Yankees.

After many studies have shown that Rawlings baseballs are in fact “juiced”, it seems that only Cody Bellinger and Christian Yelich (HR leaders before the All-Star break) seem to disagree. Increases in home run distance, exit velocity, and launch angle are all quantifiable metrics that have been used to prove this case. The game is changing. Hitters have made efforts to get under the ball creating more fly balls and coaches have changed their approach on instructing the younger generations to do the same. Getting on base no longer seems to cut it when fans are enamored by the long ball. Players aren’t getting better; they’re changing their plan at the plate.

On August 31st, Twins catcher Mitch Garver crushes a 93mph fastball thrown by Matthew Boyd over the left field wall. This was the 268th home run hit by Minnesota in 2019 which broke the Major League record for most team home runs in a single season home runs in a season. Strikeouts are another number that we’re seeing go up with guys like Kershaw, Verlander, Cole, Scherzer, Bauer, and deGrom putting up season highs. It seems with every strength comes a weakness and every home run comes a strikeout. So can pitchers possibly benefit from these new age baseballs without giving up so may home runs?

In today's game, guys who throw hard are expendable. No longer are we enamored by a mid-ninety’s fastball when guys like Aroldis Chapman and Luis Severino can come in and toss 100 MPH with little effort. Hitters have become accustomed to high pitching speeds and the average fastball is not slowing down as a result. In the mind of big league managers, we have seen the only way to match power is with more power, and that way of thinking is medieval. The last time the average fastball was below ninety miles per hour was 2005. Pitchers still found ways to get hitters out and relied on other means than throwing hard. A change in pace is all a pitcher needs in order to get someone out and it might be the best way to combat the games slugging dilemma.

The game of baseball is always changing. The addition of new rules are discussed every day to make the game more appealing to the fan and potentially more challenging to players and coaches. 

Will we see another team like the Twins next year? 

Will there be even more home runs hit? 

Is this the beginning of a new era in baseball?