Home runs are being hit at a better fee this yr than ever earlier than, and Cubs ace Jon Lester is amongst a rising variety of outstanding veterans who need to know what’s occurring.
“I know they’re not rubbed-up like they used to be,” mentioned Lester after teammate Kris Bryant’s walkoff homer, referring to the longtime observe of rubbing an MLB authorized mud on sport balls to take away the sheen and supply a greater grip. “You get balls again, they usually’re mainly white. It looks as if they’re proper out of the field.
“I had a chunk of the ball on my finger at one level tonight.”
Through April, homers had been being hit within the majors at a proper greater than 12 % larger than at this level final yr – and greater than 6 % larger than the MLB document set in 2017.
Jon Lester watches Randal Grichuk around the bases after hitting a house run in 2017.
During the previous two nights at Wrigley Field, with temperatures every evening under 45, wind chills within the 30s and antagonistic wind circumstances for hitting, the Cubs (4) and Marlins (one) hit 5 residence runs.
Homers at Wrigley and the remainder of baseball are also being hit farther with larger exit velocities than prior to now.
“I believe I learn one thing that David Price [of the Red Sox] mentioned: ‘We don’t care; simply inform us. It’d be good to know,’ “ mentioned Lester, who was quoted in the identical USA Today report final week.
“Obviously, you see it throughout the board,” he added. “In triple-A, that’s kind of the telltale sign. These guys are way ahead of their home run total that they’ve ever [had] going to the big-league ball.”
This yr, for the primary time, Class AAA leagues are utilizing the official major-league sport ball, and residential runs numbers and distances have skyrocketed.
“It is what it is. There’s no excuse. There’s no nothing,” Lester mentioned. “We’ve still got to make good pitches. If we make good pitches we can still get outs. So I think I agree with what David said. If it is, just tell us. We don’t really care. There’s nothing we can do about it but continue to pitch.”
To his level, Lester’s residence run fee reached a peak of 1.three allowed per 9 innings in the course of the document 2017 season, and he has allowed solely three in 32 innings (0.8) this yr. He hasn’t allowed one in three begins since getting back from a hamstring damage.