World Series: The Juice is Loose

13-12.

That was the final score after ten innings in Game 5 of the World Series, billed as a pitchers’ duel between two of the most dominant starters in the MLB.  If this game had been played during the regular season, the score might’ve been 1-0, maybe 2-1, but on Sunday night, no ace on either team could stop seven home runs from sailing over the Minute Maid Park wall.

The Astros and the Dodgers have already set a record for home runs hit in a World Series.  14 different players combined to hit an unprecedented 22 dingers.  Routine pop flies snuck into the stands, and George Springer clobbered a 448-footer that appeared to explode on impact.  There’s only one logical explanation for this spike in offense: the Fall Classic balls have been doctored.

Slick, slippery, special, gripless, uncontrollable, bouncy, scary, flaky, or just plain off– no matter how pitchers described the new balls, they all agreed that there was a difference, and that it was affecting their game.

Although MLB executives haven’t- and likely won’t- admit that they altered the balls, the truth should be obvious to anyone witnessing this World Series.  Players were suspicious even before Sunday’s slugfest, and coaches on both teams reported that the balls felt unusually slick.  “It’s obvious,” said Houston coach Brent Strom.  “You can see it and you can feel it.  It’s not the same.”  Pitcher Lance McCullers could easily tell the difference between balls from the World Series and the regular season with his eyes closed.  Justin Verlander claimed that autographing the balls was like signing a slippery, ink-resistant Starbucks receipt.  Yu Darvish voiced the most significant complaint: the balls made it more difficult for him to throw his signature slider successfully, which forced him to rely on his easier-to-hit fastball.  Other pitchers with the same complaint backed him up.

World Series balls are clearly different on the surface, but it’s likely that the discrepancies don’t stop there.  Slick balls could explain a slight increase in HRs, but they don’t account for phenomena like the laser Yasiel Puig hit with one hand.  MLB fans speculate that the rubber cores of the baseballs are more elastic than usual.  This would explain their tendency to explode off the bat.  Dodgers manager Dave Rodgers hesitated to offer analysis, but said that it was “hard to argue the numbers… the ball was flying, carrying more than typically.”  Game 5 starter Dallas Keuchel was less subtle.  “Obviously the balls are juiced… 100 percent.”

From a business standpoint, juicing the balls makes sense.  MLB executives have been seeking an uptick in offense.  Baseball is naturally a slow-burning game, but the sports world demands constant excitement.  It’s not a stretch to imagine commissioner Rob Manfred making a few slight adjustments in mechanics to get people talking about this year’s World Series.  Whatever Commissioner Manfred’s plan was, causal baseball fans and first-time viewers have fixed their eyes on the diamond this week.  If it takes juiced balls to make a dying sport exciting again, so be it.  Games 2 and 5 are already legendary, and baseball has rarely been better.

Game 6 of the 2017 World Series airs tonight at 8:20 on Fox.  The Astros lead the series 3-2.