Manfred puzzled by home run spike, too

MIAMI Whatever is causing baseballs to leave stadiums at a record clip this season, commissioner Rob Manfred insisted again Tuesday the culprit is not “juiced” baseballs, but said Major League Baseball is beginning to examine the composition of bats as a possible factor, and ultimately concluded we may never know the “whole answer” for this year’s spike in home runs.

Baseball is on pace for 6,127 homers this season, which would obliterate the existing record of 5,693 in 2000. In recent weeks, an increasing number of pitchers — including Blue Jays starter Marcus Stroman — claimed publicly that the ball is different than in years past: harder, smaller and/or with lower seams.

Pressed about specific claims about the seams, which some pitchers have blamed for an apparent increase in the incidence of blisters, Manfred said he is aware of the issue, and has people looking into it.

He also dismissed suggestions performance-enhancing drugs could be a factor, saying the sport’s drug-testing program features more frequent and less predictable testing than at any other time in its history.

Manfred said the league is examining bats, although he stopped short of saying he suspects they are a contributing factor.

“We’ve kind of taken it for granted,” he said, “that the bats aren’t different.”

Manfred also cited the “organic” changes in the way the game is played — hitters attuned to “launch angles,” pitchers who throw increasingly harder, and general managers who value hitters with power and don’t mind strikeouts as a trade-off.