MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred yesterday said the league is expanding its exploration into this season's home run surge to include bats in addition to the ongoing study around the composition of the ball. "We've kind of taken for granted that bats aren't different. We're starting to look at the issue of bats," Manfred said. MLBPA Exec Dir Tony Clark said the union has not focused as heavily on bat composition, but said it will so if necessary, and he acknowledged there have been marked changes in bat quality. "Over the course of the last probably half dozen, maybe 10 years now, the improvement to the quality of the wood is apparent," Clark said (Eric Fisher, Staff Writer).
ALL ABOUT THE BALL: Manfred said that testing by two independent groups has "shown -- with 'absolute certainty' -- the baseballs fall within the standard manufacturing specifications" (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 7/12). In DC, Dave Sheinin notes Manfred "acknowledged the sport was looking into which standards were most important in examining the construction of baseballs." Manfred said, "We have used a particular testing institution for a number of years. Last year, because we thought, 'Gee, maybe we need to go a little further here,' we went out and hired a second expert to essentially audit and review what the first one did. I don’t know exactly what physical properties are the most important. But what I do know is we hired two really qualified sets of experts, and they agreed we were testing for the right things" (WASHINGTON POST, 7/12). On MLB looking into the standards that have existed for baseballs, Manfred said, "One issue you have to look at is how baseballs are actually produced. It's not a machine-produced, sort-of-perfect manufacturing process. We are thinking about the specification issues. We think we've made a lot of strides in recent years in how baseballs are stored" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 7/12).
NOT ANOTHER STEROID ERA: Manfred said that he "does not believe the power surge is evidence of performance-enhancing drugs, citing the frequency and unpredictability of testing" (BOSTON GLOBE, 7/12). Manfred and Clark "each spoke" on the league's Joint Drug Prevention & Treatment Program. Manfred: "It's absolutely clear that we have a state-of-the-art testing program. And there is dramatically more testing going on [than] there ever has been in the past." Clark "expressed a similarly positive sentiment about the program." Clark: "This is one of those areas where players have continued to push to make sure we have the best testing policy around. ... You don't know when you're going to be tested or how many days in a row you're going to be tested. Our program is very good from that standpoint. The guys appreciate it" (MLB.com, 7/11).
BEST POSSIBLE OUTCOME? In K.C., Sam Mellinger notes MLB is "on pace for 400 more home runs" than '00, "smack in the middle" of the Steroid Era. But in place of all the "cries about the ruination of the game, we have a bunch of human shrug emojis." Manfred said, "The question is not what I like. The issue is what our fans want to see. And our research suggests the home run is a popular play in baseball." Mellinger writes the "most important thing here is not whether the baseball is juiced, but what baseball does about it." MLB "shouldn't treat this as a scandal -- but as an opportunity." The more fans "hear Manfred talk about this," the more they realize this is "something like a commissioner's dream: a boost in the game's defining play without anyone talking about syringes." Nationals RF Bryce Harper, Marlins RF Giancarlo Stanton, Yankees RF Aaron Judge, Angels CF Mike Trout and "many more can help shape a game still reluctant to promote personality." This is a "terrific opportunity, and considering the studies that show how quickly baseball's fan base is aging, something the game can't well afford to pass up" (K.C. STAR, 7/12).
