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Angels' Joe Maddon hopes new baseballs…
Angels' Joe Maddon hopes new baseballs bring back '1985' style
MLB baseballs this season should be slightly less bouncy, which could cut down homers and change the style of play
Angels manager Joe Maddon believes a less bouncy baseball being used by Major League Baseball could lead to a throwback style of play that could place greater emphasis on speed. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images)
By Jeff Fletcher | jlfletcher@scng.com | Orange County Register
PUBLISHED: March 26, 2021 at 11:14 a.m. | UPDATED: March 26, 2021 at 3:01 p.m.
TEMPE, Ariz. — A few weeks ago as Joe Maddon was watching baseballs sail over the fence, one after the other, in a Cactus League game, he had a suspicion.
"These," Maddon said, "have got to be 2020 issue."
Those would be the baseballs, which have been changed for the 2021 season. According to a widely reported memo sent to clubs over the winter, MLB changed the manufacturing process for baseballs to be used this season, in order to make them more consistent and less lively.
Maddon is an enthusiastic supporter of the change, often referring to the "1985" style of play he would like to see.
As MLB tries to move the game from one dominated by homers, strikeouts and walks, Maddon said changing the ball ought to take care of that all by itself.
"If the ball doesn't travel as far, a lot of the things you're looking for will just occur because hitters will have to adjust," Maddon said. "Pitchers will adjust. Defenses will adjust. Everything will adjust. Speed will become more prominent. All the things you're looking for will just happen. …
"The game will just come back, I think, to almost what we had grown up knowing."
Maddon, 67, favors a style in which pitchers can pitch to contact because they aren't so worried that contact will drive the ball over the fence. Hitters won't swing from their heels trying to drive every pitch out if they are more likely to hit fly balls to the warning track. Stealing bases will become more prominent if teams aren't so convinced runners are already in scoring position on first.
It remains to be seen how much this year's changes to balls will have an impact on the game.
The coefficient of restitution (COR) of balls in recent years had trended toward the top of the acceptable range, according to the memo. In other words, the balls were more bouncy, so they flew farther.
In order to bring the balls more toward the middle of the range, they have been wound more loosely, which in theory would mean the seams would be higher. That could benefit pitchers in a second way, by making the breaking balls sharper.
This spring, the Angels have been using the new balls in their workouts and games at Tempe Diablo Stadium, while some other teams have been using older balls.
The consensus of a handful of Angels pitchers asked about the feel of the balls this spring was that they don't feel any different, though.
"I don't feel anything, honestly," said Jose Quintana, who is starting his 10th season in the majors. "Hopefully it will help me."
Dylan Bundy, who has been in the majors since 2012, said each ball always feels a little different to him anyway: "Not one ball's the same. You've got to deal with it. Everybody has to deal with it. So just go out there and throw it."
Andrew Heaney, who debuted in 2014, said that he's a bad one to ask because he's never been great at picking up tiny differences based on feel.
"I can tell when the seams seem a little thicker or more raised, but I haven't really been paying attention," he said. "I'm not really worried about it. We'll figure it out."
The exception is Ty Buttrey, who made his debut in 2018. He said he noticed last year that the balls felt different, but this year they feel the way they did a few years ago. He said the indicator to him is that he gets different callouses on his fingers based on the feel and size of the ball.
As for the difference in carry, that's difficult to judge because of the conditions in Arizona. The ball generally flies better in Arizona than it does at the places where baseball is played in the regular season. Even within Arizona, it can vary wildly based on the wind on a given day.
Maddon, however, said he's noticed a few times when he's thought the baseball had changed: "I've seen some games where I thought balls were gonna leave that haven't left."
The Angels on Friday released right-hander Jesse Chavez and outfielder Jon Jay, veterans who were in camp on minor-league deals. Both players fell under a clause in the rules forcing teams to make decisions by a Saturday deadline.
The Angels needed to put in writing that the players would be on the Opening Day roster, release them or pay them a $100,000 retention bonus to keep them in the minors.
The moves further defined the Angels' likely Opening Day roster, with Juan Lagares expected to be added to the 40-man roster as the fourth outfielder.
The Angels' bullpen choices have been narrowed significantly with moves in recent days. Raisel Iglesias, Alex Claudio, Mike Mayers, Junior Guerra and Ty Buttrey are expected to get five of the eight spots.
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Right-hander Aaron Slegers, who missed a couple of weeks with back spasms, came back and pitched Wednesday. Assuming the Angels feel he's good to go with just five or six innings in the spring, he should also have a spot.
That leaves Jaime Barria, Patrick Sandoval and prospect Chris Rodriguez for the last two spots. Maddon said Thursday that Rodriguez is "looking really good." Presumably, the Angels would need only one of Barria/Sandoval, so the other could be stretched out as an emergency starter at the alternate site.
Felix Peña (hamstring) will start the season on the injured list, but he should be back by mid-April.
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Jeff Fletcher | Reporter
Jeff Fletcher has covered the Angels since 2013. Before that, he spent 11 years covering the Giants and A's and working as a national baseball writer. Jeff is a Hall of Fame voter. In 2015, he was elected chairman of the Los Angeles chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America.
jlfletcher@scng.com
Follow Jeff Fletcher @JeffFletcherOCR
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