MLB Needs to test Balls for Steriods

[JimmyWint]

What in the world is going on? The scores early on remind me of Softball Scores. Balls are flying out at a record pace. I believe that the powers that be in Baseball decided that since the Players were shrinking they had better make up for it by juicing the Baseballs.Anyone have any actual stats to indicate whether Home Runs and Runs in General are up?

[Franklinnoble]

Everybody but Barry can take steroids now.

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by Franklinnoble

Everybody but Barry can take steroids now.

LOL

[JS19]

Don't have any concrete evidence, but i do recall commentators mentioning how home runs are up well above the norm for this time of year. Not sure if it's a any kind of record pace, but they are up.

[illinifan999]

My baseball coach said he read somewhere that they changed the way balls were made resulting in an increased pop. But sometimes I wonder if we could have him committed so......

[Hurst2112]

How do they test balls? Massage them? That thread title made me giggle.

[stevew]

Now that the pitchers arent allowed to juice, they are losing enough of their velocity/movement so that they serve up more gopher balls. Seems plausible anyways.

[Anthony]

the MLB has suspended the following players whose balls tested positive for steroids:

Edit: removed pic before i got boxed.

[AZSpeechCoach]

Good God HA! Some of us were eating!

[stevew]

That's hilarious.

[dawgfan]

Runs scored are up so far this season. It's almost certainly not because of any "juicing" of the ball - every time people claim this, the baseballs are tested and there's no difference found.

This is likely just a combination of small sample size with random variation playing a big role (i.e. "chance") combined with unusually good weather so far in many places.

For the more cynical, you can also add the possibility that many more players have decided to juice up with HGH and new designer steroids that aren't detected by the current system. Of course, you'd have to assume that only hitters are doing so and not pitchers, which doesn't hold up well to logic.

[JimmyWint]

2.4 INN, 9 HA, 4 BBI, 4 K, 11 ER, 29.700 ERA, 3.900 WHIP

That is my pitching Line for the Evening in Fantasy Baseball...UGH

[Maple Leafs]

Actually, steroids would make the ball smaller. They'd shrivel up and get all...

Wait, what are we talking about?

[bbor]

Originally Posted by Maple Leafs

Actually, steroids would make the ball smaller. They'd shrivel up and get all...

Wait, what are we talking about?

We were talking about past experiences taking steroids....

[amdaily]

Originally Posted by JS19

Don't have any concrete evidence, but i do recall commentators mentioning how home runs are up well above the norm for this time of year. Not sure if it's a any kind of record pace, but they are up.

After 13 games MLB is on pace for 5,770 league wide home runs. Last year there were 5,017. Average over the past 3 years is 5,225.

As for runs, they are on pace for 23,428. Last year was 22,322. Average over the past 3 years was 22,891.

[Butter]

Originally Posted by JimmyWint

2.4 INN, 9 HA, 4 BBI, 4 K, 11 ER, 29.700 ERA, 3.900 WHIP

That is my pitching Line for the Evening in Fantasy Baseball...UGH

2.4 innings?

[rewissick]

It's only 2+ weeks of the season. Small sample size warning! If this random fluctuation took place during the second half of June, would we even notice? Doubt it. If MLB is still on this pace in 2 months, then I think we can try to figure out why.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by rewissick

Small sample size warning!

Bingo.

Andruw Jones is currently on pace for right at 80 homers. Somehow I don't think he'll get there.

I don't think Pujols will get to 115 either.

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by rewissick

It's only 2+ weeks of the season. Small sample size warning! If this random fluctuation took place during the second half of June, would we even notice? Doubt it. If MLB is still on this pace in 2 months, then I think we can try to figure out why.

That didn't stop people last year from showing how the steroids testing was working because all the HRs and Runs were down in the early going last year.

[Klinglerware]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

That didn't stop people last year from showing how the steroids testing was working because all the HRs and Runs were down in the early going last year.

Yes. I remember last year's thread about the early season HR rate being down, and specifically Jayson Stark's article on the subject (though incredibly, he quotes statistics that do nothing to prove his point). Nobody was complaining about sample size then...
http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/...t=jayson+stark

[rewissick]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

That didn't stop people last year from showing how the steroids testing was working because all the HRs and Runs were down in the early going last year.

And I would have said the same thing last year...that the sample size is way to small to be meaningful in any real way. And while we are talking about last year, does anyone remember that the Astros were 15-30 after 45 games, yet still made it to the series? So maybe we should wait to draw conclusions until we've got more data to support them?

I do think it's funny how sports 'writers' don't know how to approach this early offensive output. It doesn't fit into their preconceived notions of what should happen, so they are grasping for straws on how to spin it. They'll probably end up saying that the hitters have better chemistry then the pitchers, so that should explain it.

[DanGarion]

But whose balls are they going to test?

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by rewissick

And I would have said the same thing last year...that the sample size is way to small to be meaningful in any real way. And while we are talking about last year, does anyone remember that the Astros were 15-30 after 45 games, yet still made it to the series? So maybe we should wait to draw conclusions until we've got more data to support them?

All I'm saying is that I have no problem with this talk to counter all the BS last year, where you may actually have people (casual fans) who believe that testing for steroids drastically reduced offense. The stats this year (though small sample size like last season's early going) may make people realize that the testing really isn't going to change the game's numbers that much.

[Bad-example]

In other news, a quick search shows this to be the fifth thread in recent history with the word steriods in the title. Started by five different people.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Bingo.

Andruw Jones is currently on pace for right at 80 homers. Somehow I don't think he'll get there.

I don't think Pujols will get to 115 either.

Or Chris Shelton hitting over 100?

SI

[miami_fan]

The article is a week old but I just read it and remembered this thread.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseb...r-homers_x.htm

Why so many home runs?
Updated 7/12/2006 1:47 PM ET

By Bob Nightengale, USA TODAY
PITTSBURGH — Major League Baseball insists its steroid-testing policy is the most stringent in sports. Federal agents, with the raid of an infamous Bay Area laboratory and a former pitcher's home, let baseball fans know they're cracking down on the use of illegal performance-enhancing drugs, too.
Yet the vast majority of players say their peers have used substances such as amphetamines or steroids in this, the first season both have been banned. In a USA TODAY survey of players from June 24 to July 9, 75% of the 476 major leaguers who responded believe some players have used amphetamines this season and 69% said their colleagues have used another performance-enhancing drug, such as steroids or human-growth hormone.

Fans surveyed by USA TODAY/Gallup were also skeptical that MLB has been able to stamp out the use of performance-enhancing drugs. The major reason for their skepticism: Home runs are being hit at a pace this season even greater than 2003, considered the final year of baseball's steroid era.

Said players union executive chief Don Fehr of the player survey: "We're at a stage now that if there's any variation in power totals and strikeout totals, there has to be a reason. If home runs are up, it's because players are taking drugs. If the numbers are down, it's because they used to take drugs. There are no more normal variances. We hide behind the gross numbers. I just don't know what to do anymore."

Commissioner Bud Selig declined comment.

Thirteen players have hit at least 24 home runs by the All-Star break, giving them a legitimate shot at hitting 50 or more this year — a feat accomplished by only 22 players in baseball history.

Designated hitters David Ortiz of the Boston Red Sox and Jim Thome of the Chicago White Sox are on track to make a run at the 60-homer mark with 31 and 30, respectively. And there have been 10 homers hit at least 470 feet this season, including three blasts of more than 490 feet, according to USA TODAY research.

"I swear a lot of balls look like they're Titleists hit with a two-iron," Baltimore Orioles pitching coach Leo Mazzone says, "only they're flying a lot farther. It's unbelievable."

"Come on, do they think we're idiots? Are we really supposed to believe this is normal?" Boston Red Sox veteran reliever Rudy Seanez says. "Guys are hitting home runs one-handed to the upper deck. It's a joke."

There has been an average of 2.23 home runs hit a game in the first half of the season, as compared with 2.25 in 2001 when Barry Bonds broke the single-season record with 73 homers. If the rate continues, 2006 would end up as the fifth-highest home run season in baseball history.

"We've had two eight-home run games at Wrigley Field this year. Two!" Chicago Cubs pitching coach Larry Rothschild says. "Can you believe that? Something just isn't right."

Most players are reluctant to ascribe the homer binge to banned substances; only 3% in the player survey conducted by USA TODAY and The Sports Xchange pinpointed performance-enhancing drugs as the reason. A majority of players said there is either no reason for the increase (29%) or it's because of an improvement in hitting (28%).

And the players don't believe illegal drug use is widespread in the sport. About 52% of the big-leaguers who responded estimated less than one-tenth of players have used amphetamines this season, 17% said that between 11% and 25% of players used, 3% said between a quarter and a half and 3% put the number at more than half. About 7 in 10 players said their colleagues had taken another performance-enhancing drug, such as steroids, and a majority said less than 10% were using.

Fans, though, attribute the home run increase to performance-enhancing drugs, according to a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll conducted in June that showed 47% of 594 baseball fans trace the power surge to drug use. One fan in four cited better hitting overall, rather than drugs.

There's no shortage of alternate theories from players, coaches, executives and fans, including a decline in the quality of pitching and a change in the way baseballs are made.

"The pitchers are worse, but that may because they're off steroids now," says Adam Kelley, a 21-year-old from Morgantown, W.Va., here for today's All-Star festivities.

"Maybe since they wanted to keep home runs up, they tightened the ball (to make it travel farther), who knows?" says former 20-game winner Pat Dobson, special assistant to San Francisco Giants general manager Brian Sabean. "If they kept the status quo and the home runs were all about steroids, then home runs theoretically should be down this year."

Variety of possibilities

No players interviewed on the record would say home runs are on the rise because of steroids or other illegal substances. Some hitters say that while there have been accusations of steroid use through the years and suspensions since baseball started penalizing in 2004, certainly enough pitchers have tested positive to show they were cheating, too.

Although former Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Jason Grimsley didn't test positive, he was suspended for 50 games in June after admitting on April 19 to federal agents that he used illegal performance-enhancing drugs, according to unsealed court documents. Grimsley became the seventh pitcher and 13th player overall to be suspended for violating baseball's steroids policy.

"Hey, I'm not the only one who has noticed guys out there whose velocity is down," Minnesota Twins center fielder Torii Hunter says. "If a guy like Jason Grimsley was throwing 96 mph in Kansas City and then throwing 88 mph in Baltimore, it tells you something funny is going on."

"I think anybody would be crazy to take steroids now," Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Ronny Paulino says. "It's bad enough that you get suspended, but I think the embarrassment of your name being out in public is worse."

Some pitching coaches insist umpires are squeezing the strike zone and forcing pitchers to give hitters better pitches to hit. Umpire supervisor Richie Garcia, however, says balls an average of 4½ inches off the plate are still being called strikes.

"The strike zone is smaller, so much smaller," Mazzone says. "And it's not fair to umpires. They complain as much as we do. The strike zone was great until (former MLB vice president Sandy) Alderson got involved and put in that damn QuesTec," an electronic surveillance system that measures the strike zone on each batter.

Says Red Sox starter Curt Schilling: "I've been surprised at the extremes in the strike zone. I've had some of the best-umpired games, and I've had some of the most horrifically umpired games. And I don't know why."

Scouts and baseball executives point to the quality of pitching having deteriorated.

"The pitching is terrible this year," Dobson says. "There just isn't enough pitching to go around."

Also pitchers and general managers say hitters have a distinct advantage wearing the heavy elbow padding to protect themselves at the plate. "Pitchers don't pitch inside as much, and a reason for that is because some of the predominantly great hitters are wearing all of this armor," San Diego Padres general manager Kevin Towers says. "I can understand if you're coming off an injury, but not for an entire career. Look at (Barry) Bonds and what he's wearing. That's a joke.

"It's just not right. It really puts a pitcher at a disadvantage."

Pitchers question baseballs

Houston Astros reliever Russ Springer, an 11-year veteran who has pitched for seven organizations, had finally seen enough.

He marched into the Astros clubhouse, grabbed a baseball and decided to do his own scientific study. He slowly sliced open the ball as if he were dissecting a frog in seventh-grade biology. He ripped off the cover. Unraveled the yarn. Cut through the center. And voila!

No cork. Only a black piece of hard rubber.

"There you have it," Springer said. "It used to be cork you could crumble. Then it was a hard piece of cork. Now there's no cork at all but a rubber ball. It's like a superball."

Says San Francisco Giants All-Star pitcher Jason Schmidt: "I wouldn't put it past baseball to do something funny with the ball. Let's face it, nobody likes to see 1-0 and 2-1 games. There's no steroids in the game, so we've got to have some offense, right?"

Sorry, MLB executive vice president Jimmie Lee Solomon says, the theory is baseless.

"I know ballplayers today are a more intelligent group, and there probably are players who think they are chemists and can examine the rubber compositions in baseballs," Solomon says, "but the balls are no different. It's a fantasy.

"Look, we saw the increase in home runs and heard all of these people make the same allegations, so we went and checked ourselves. We went to the assembling plant in Costa Rica. We went to the storage facility in Missouri. We did all of the tests possible and tore down the baseballs. They were all in compliance.

"The baseball today is more consistent than it's ever been."

Says Chicago Cubs reliever Scott Eyre: "You hear all of these different theories, but it's all just speculation. This is coming from a pitcher now, but I think the real reason is just bad pitching. Come on, you think the Rawlings baseball company would actually doctor baseballs and could keep it a secret?"

And with the size and strength of hitters these days and the advance scouting reports, hitters will tell you they are more than capable of hitting bad pitches a long ways.

"People just don't give credit to the strength of hitters," says Padres catcher Mike Piazza, who has hit more home runs (388) than any catcher in history. "We also have all of these scouting reports. The bats are better. Everything."

Says Cubs hitting coach Gene Clines: "Everybody thought with steroids gone home runs would drop. Come on, these guys are bigger and stronger now. Besides, this is good for the game. Everyone wants to see home runs."

Posted 7/10/2006 7:14 PM ET

[ISiddiqui]

This is kind of funny... Baseball does have the strictest testing standard in American sports now, it is true, but balls are flying out at a record pace. It's just entirely amusing... especially after when runs were down last year people were saying steroid testing was doing its job .

Of course its probably random variation and the small ballparks and small strike zones have much to do with it, but steroids is just sexier.

[JS19]

I attribute this offensive increase to the fact that the likes Jose Lima and Jeff Weaver, just to name a couple, are still allowed to pitch in MLB.