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The committee concluded that the increase in home run hitting since the 2015 season was due, at least in part, to a change in the aerodynamic properties of the baseball (i.e., reduced drag for given launch conditions, as opposed to a change in launch conditions). That conclusion is supported by their analysis of Statcast™ data, a physics-based model that the Committee developed, and laboratory testing of game-used baseballs from before and after the increase in home run rate. The Committee did not find any change in the size, weight, seam height, or COR of the baseball that would explain the increase in home runs. Though the Committee was unable to conclusively prove the exact cause of the reduced drag since the 2015 season, they offered hypotheses including that the rubber pill may be more centered within the baseball since 2015 and that the ball may be staying rounder while spinning since the 2015 season.
Though the Committee was unable to conclusively prove the exact cause of the reduced drag since the 2015 season, they offered hypotheses including that the rubber pill may be more centered within the baseball since 2015 and that the ball may be staying rounder while spinning since the 2015 season.
IMO The game is much more fun to watch now that homeruns have increased so much.
originally posted by: TinfoilTP
Maybe the pitchers are not what they used to be.
Both procedures performed–the experimental tests at WSU and the mathematical analysis of StatCast data–indicate that the drag coefficient has changed by approximately 0.0153 since 2015, an amount sufficient to have caused the home run surge.
originally posted by: Bluntone22
Home run hitters make more money than guys with 400 batting averages.
The result is men swinging for the fences.
originally posted by: pheonix358
a reply to: Krakatoa
I like that possibility.
Another may be a change in training. Did something change that is not seen as significant, such as a shift towards a slightly different swing or stance that was widely accepted by all clubs.
In many sports with so much money at stake, it may be a change in training regimes or perhaps some psychology was implemented.
The change in home runs is significant but the minor difference in flight dynamics is simply keeping the ball aloft for a tiny extra time. Because of the fence, you now score more home runs.
Check the sport's headlines in 2014/2016 to see if something stands out. Everyone may have forgotten a minor change made years ago.
P
originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus
originally posted by: Krakatoa
More domed stadiums being built, means less environmental impact on the ball due to no natural wind.
There's only one domed stadium in MLB, the rest are retractable roofs that are opened when it's not raining.
I agree with your post but you seem to be missing that the pitching speeds have not changed and it seems likely that in order to see such an increase in home runs that the same factor causing such would have a noticeable impact on the pitching speeds.
The Carry of Fly Ball
the pitchf/x system which uses permanently installed video cameras in each MLB park to track the pitched baseball. The very same cameras can also be used to track the initial part of the batted-ball trajectory, from which the initital batted-ball velocity, vertical launch angle, and horizontal spray angle can be determined.
I only heard of two pitchers making the claim of the balls in the last couple yrs being rougher on their hands.
Mandela effect?
Later results derived from testing and analysis performed by the MLB committee were unable to confirm this early analysis. However, the statistical modeling he performed in his earlier studies does provide a basis for exploring why there is no noticeable change in pitching velocity relative to the the distance traveled of the baseball.