MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL HAS A LIVELY CONTROVERSY : Statistics Support Claim That Ball Has Something Extra

The question emerges every time a light-hitting shortstop belts a towering home run or a pitcher knocks a fastball off the outfield wall.

Is the baseball juiced up? Have the sporting goods dealers dealt baseball a fast one by making the ball livelier?

Each year the theory is knocked down by season’s end. But one month into the 1987 season, suspicions exist.

“I think it’s livelier. I don’t know that anyone official is going to admit it but I’ve seen some strange things going on,” said Cubs Manager Gene Michael, whose club hit 12 homers in a four-game stretch in early May.

Former National League batting champion Bill Madlock of the Dodgers also suspects something is unusual about the baseball.

“Now I haven’t played a lot this year, but I saw (Dodger shortstop) Mariano Duncan hit a ball that you wouldn’t believe,” Madlock says. “Is something goofy with the ball? Well, maybe yes and maybe no.”

The Elias Sports Bureau in New York is always skeptical of charges of a livelier baseball. Armed with thousands of facts about hitting, the bureau says there are other factors.

“Listen, we seem to get this every couple of years,” says Peter Hirdt of the bureau. “Someone notices there are more home runs hit and all of a sudden, the ball is juiced up? Never been proven and you won’t get anyone involved with baseball or those making them to say otherwise.”

The statistics do provide some fuel for those who believe the baseball is livelier.

Through games of May 14, offensive production is up.

The National League batting average is up 21 points at .264 over this time one year ago. The American League is about identical, .257 this year compared to .255 a year ago.

There has been a significant increase in the number of home runs hit.

In the National League, the average is 2.04 per game compared to 1.74 per game at this time last year. In the American League, it is 2.23 per game this year compared to 1.90 one year ago.

“It is a pretty significant increase,” Hirdt says. “We really hadn’t realized it was up that much.”

Team ERAs are also up. In the American League, through games of May 4, the ERA is 4.24 compared to 4.10 one year ago. In the National League, it is up half a run per game, from 3.52 to 4.02 this year.

“But we’ve had panic stats before. I suppose you’ll have to wait until the entire year is up,” Hirdt says.

Former Cubs manager and now broadcaster Jim Frey says he noticed the change as early as spring training.

“We had some guys really powering some balls out,” Frey says. “Now you can’t prove that the ball is juiced up. But look at Nolan Ryan. The guy never hits the ball and he belts a home run. Scott Sanderson, not a particularly good hitting pitcher, nearly hit a ball out of Wrigley Field last week.”

The St. Louis Cardinals, dead last in the majors last year in home runs, hit more homers in the first week of the season this year than they did in the entire month of April last year.

Baltimore, after a hot week, is on a pace to hit 248 home runs, while the Cubs are on a home run pace that would total 236 for the year.

“OK, we play in Wrigley Field, but most of the games this year the wind is blowing in and the ball is still going out,” Cubs’ second baseman Ryne Sandberg said.

Through May 14, nine American Leaguers and nine National Leaguers had hit nine or more home runs. Taking that through the rest of the season, that would mean 18 major leagues could hit 50 or more home runs. Through May 14, Eric Davis of Cincinnati had already hit 15.

“Again, there could be other factors. How about corking the bats. There are some guys on the Mets they always accuse of doing that,” Hirdt says. “How about the weather conditions. The quality of players playing the game?”

It is true some of the better pitchers have been sidelined. Dwight Gooden and Roger McDowell have been sidelined with the Mets, John Tudor of St. Louis is out and Roger Clemens of Boston was a holdout early.

Hirdt says: “Scoring is up this year, for sure, but I’m still a bit skeptical whether you can start looking toward the baseball as the culprit right now.”