BC Rob Manfred says ‘ball not to blame for all the long balls’
HOUSTON (AP) — Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred doesn’t blame the baseball for all the long balls.
A World Series record eight home runs were hit in the Houston Astros’ 7-6, 11-inning win over the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 2, including five in extra innings. That followed a regular season that featured 6,105 home runs, 2.4 percent more than the previous record of 5,963 set in 2000 at the height of the Steroids Era. Speculation about juiced balls has been fueled by a report claiming the makeup of the league’s baseballs has changed in recent years.
“I’m absolutely confident that the balls that we’re using are within our established specifications,” Manfred said Friday before Game 3. “I think making a judgment based on seeing home runs in a single game just doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.”
Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel was quoted as saying after Game 2: “Obviously, the balls are juiced.”
Manfred was pleased with the television ratings for the first two games of the World Series, even though they were down from last year, when interest rose as the Chicago Cubs sought and then won their first title since 1908.
Los Angeles’ 3-1 win in this year’s opener averaged 15,458,000 viewers on the three Fox outlets, down 21 percent from last year, and Game 2 averaged 16,019,000 viewers, down 10 percent.
“We think the ratings are really strong,” he said. “They stand up pretty well against even a Cubs situation.”