After years of offensive explosion, the pitchers are making a big comeback in 2022, with slugging and run totals down across Major League Baseball.
While there could be a couple explanations -- the Pirates' Chris Stratton theorized that the cold April and shortened spring probably played a role -- the actual baseball itself is coming under scrutiny. The league is regulating ball storage better this year with each club using a humidor, but that also doesn't truly explain the drop.
Consider the league stats on barrels, the best form of contact that has ideal launch angle and a high exit velocity. In 2019, the league had a 2.821 slugging percentage on those batted balls and it was a home run 59.4% of the time. In 2021, it's a 2.185 slug and 41.3% home run rate.
“There’s no running away from it," hitting coach Andy Haines told me. "It’s staring everyone right in the face."
According to research by Meredith Wills and Bradford William Davis, the league used two different types of baseballs for different games in recent years, one "juiced," one a bit deader.
Having that in mind, the Pirates are doing their own research into the ball, wanting to see how it behaves now and over the course of the season.
“I’ve seen both extremes," Haines said. "In ‘19, the ball was different. The ball was flying. There was no doubt in my mind that ball was different in the opposite direction. The ball was traveling further.”
MORE PIRATES
2. One more de-juiced ball note: I heard in the clubhouse that nobody has been impacted more by it than Ke'Bryan Hayes. He's talked to me about what he's trying to do to pull and elevate the ball more, which is part of the equation too, but it can't be denied that he's crushed a couple balls that died on the warning track, including a 380-foot fly out to left field Thursday. -- Stumpf
3. Roberto Pérez is still getting different doctors' opinions, which is why the Pirates have yet to officially announce an official timeline for a return. Watching him move around the clubhouse -- sometimes with a crutch, sometimes with a brace -- fans should be prepared to settle in with Michael Perez and Andrew Knapp for some time. -- Stumpf
4. On my trip out to Altoona this week, I got a report on two pitchers who have really impressed this year. One was Mike Burrows, who is one of the top pitching prospects in the system. The other was a sleeper: Right-hander Luis Ortiz, who I'm told is ramping up to the upper 90s consistently with spin on his breaking ball. The ERA isn't there and there are some control problems that will need to be ironed out, but raw stuff wise, the 23-year-old righty might be a future bullpen arm. -- Stumpf
5. On the other side of the coin, I didn't exactly get a glowing report on Carmen Mlodzinski, but that could perhaps be explained by him hitting the injured list for his shoulder this week. That's two straight years he's hit the IL because of his shoulder, so this is a borderline recurring problem. Even before then, his prospect stock seems to have taken a hit. It's obviously not dire, but for someone who seemed to be a safer, high-floor selection compared to many of the other Pirates' early round draft picks the past two years, the 2020 first-rounder isn't off to the best start in Class AA. -- Stumpf
6. Expect to see more minor-league players start to move around defensively in the coming weeks and through the rest of the season now that the season is in full swing and they've had some time to work with their coaches in-season. An interesting one to watch: Shortstop Liover Peguero and second baseman Nick Gonzales will stay double-play partners, but with the two flipping positions. -- Stumpf
7. The Pirates were always willing to fast track Henry Davis through the minors as long as he performed and developed properly. He's done exactly that thus far, which is why he's now in Altoona. Good to see both sides keep their side of the bargain. -- Stumpf
8. Even with all the changes the team's made at PNC Park -- opening up the outfield concourse, expanding the feel toward the Allegheny River, eliminating the pointless out-of-town scores on the Clemente Wall -- the biggest one, I'm told, is still to come. And that'd be replacing the terribly outdated and undersized main scoreboard. No specifics on that at all, but it'll be sooner rather than later. -- Dejan Kovacevic at PPG Paints Arena
STEELERS
9. Cam Heyward winning the Good Guy award this week was a big deal for him and any potential Pro Football Hall of Fame candidacy he might have. If you look at the list of player who have won the award, it's dotted with current and future Hall of Fame players. With three first-team and one second-team All-Pro honor and five Pro Bowls on his resume, Heyward's reaching that level. If you look at Heyward's ranking on Pro Football Reference's Hall of Fame monitor, he's at 56.93. Bryant Young made it this year with a 64.30 ranking. With a couple of more good seasons, Heyward could be in the mix.-- Dale Lolley on the South Side
10. You all have likely seen or heard someone refer to Next Gen Stats. They have been around for a while and help the league track player speed and a number of other things. Did you know that through Next Gen Stats, there is a tracking chip actually inserted into the football? That's how such things as aggressive throws are judged. Players have a tracker inserted into their uniforms and if the ball is thrown into a spot with a defender within a yard, it's considered an aggressive throw. So, if there's a tracking chip in the ball and there are sensors at the yardage sticks -- there are -- why doesn't the league use those to spot the ball, or at least let us know if the ball crosses the goal line or reaches the first-down marker? I'm told it's been kicked around at the league level. It could be coming soon. -- Lolley
11. The biggest issue with putting trackers in the ball is keeping it balanced. After the Deflategate incident, the league is very protective of its footballs, who handles them and how they are weighted and inflated. And in goal line situations the tip of the ball only needs to touch the line for the play to be considered a touchdown. We'll see what happens. Smarter people than me are working on the issue. -- Lolley
12. Melvin Ingram wore No. 8 for the Steelers last season under the new NFL rules that did away with the traditional number designations. When he was traded to the Chiefs, practice squad safety Karl Joseph adopted No. 8, which had been his number in college at West Virginia. But when Kenny Pickett was drafted, he wanted 8, as well, since it was his college number. Joseph was moved to No. 38 and Pickett was given 8. Had Joseph been an established veteran player, such a transaction in numbers would have gotten expensive. Pickett would have had to pay Joseph for all of the No. 8 jerseys that had been made and more to acquire the number. As it was, the team could just make the switch. -- Lolley
13. The Steelers don't leave the Eastern Time Zone in their 2022 travel schedule. That's a big deal given the team's struggles, particularly when they play in Pacific Time Zone. The Steelers are 3-7 all-time under Mike Tomlin when they play on the West Coast. Bill Cowher and Chuck Noll had similar records playing on the coast. -- Lolley
14. One other thing to keep in mind when looking at the schedule is that Tomlin is 52-50 in his career against teams that finish the season with a winning record. Before you discount that, realize his .510 winning percentage is the highest against teams with a winning record among current coaches. Bill Belichick, for example, is 95-96 in such games in his career. And no, Tomlin doesn't always lose to bad teams, either. The Steelers are 62-30-1 under Tomlin against teams that finish the season with a losing record. That's a .672 winning percentage. -- Lolley
15. The Steelers are on the road once again in Week 1 of the regular season thanks to the Pirates playing at home the weekend of Sept. 11. The Steelers haven't opened at home since 2014 for the same reason, which is a little ridiculous. There are other cities across the country where the baseball and football stadiums are in the same general area. But somehow the Steelers keep getting the short end of the stick when it comes to home openers in Week 1, and they aren't delighted about it. -- Lolley
PENGUINS
16. Based on everything I saw and heard in New York, and then more information yesterday ... Tristan Jarry will play this weekend, possibly as soon as tonight. That has plenty to do with his foot mending maybe a bit faster than expected, but it also has to do with Louis Domingue not yet having risen to an average level of goaltending. Should be quite a day in that regard. -- Kovacevic
17. No, I don't know any more about Sidney Crosby's status than anyone else. That's the nature of concussions, as well as the nature of how exceptionally protective the Penguins are about Sid. But I'll add here, on top our Taylor Haase's reporting from Madison Square Garden that nothing looked out of the ordinary as Sid left the arena toward the team bus late Wednesday night, that the team took every conceivable precaution in the moment, given his history. We'll see what, if anything, that means. -- Kovacevic
18. Never mistake the Penguins' silence on a matter like Jacob Trouba's filthy hit on Crosby as being reflective of their feelings. They're on fire over it. And the people who need to hear that definitely heard it. But Mike Sullivan, who becomes the team's sole voice during a playoff round, doesn't see a benefit to airing it out. He's not in the PR business. He's trying to win games. And embarrassing refs doesn't generally help in that regard. -- Kovacevic
19. Cheaper ticket prices are on the way. Spurred by the Fenway Sports Group, I'm told, the Penguins will lower season-ticket prices on 72% of PPG Paints Arena's seats, while 12% will stay the same and 16% will increase. Cumulatively, that'll result in a lower average ticket price -- I wasn't able to get that figure -- for the first time since 2004, the year before Sidney Crosby's arrival. -- Kovacevic
20. Not making any excuse for the Game 5 loss -- not that it's needed, given how heartily the Penguins emerged for the first 60% of it -- but this team's been hit hard by non-COVID illness. Several players and staffers have been under the weather. There's also been some COVID, though not in the locker room. -- Kovacevic
21. Mad props to the elderly, white-bearded madman on the sidewalk outside the Garden before the game Wednesday, barking out to no one visible, "We're losing to a goaltender from the American Hockey League! The AHL! And we're putting 20 shots on him! Why?" just as Mark Friedman happened to be passing by on his way to the hotel. I got a look from Friedman that spoke volumes.
What a place, man. It'd be wonderful to not go back. -- Kovacevic
