MLB Reportedly Used Multiple Balls Again in 2022. Did They Impact Aaron Judge’s Chase?

Research, cited in a new story from Insider, suggests that MLB used three different balls in 2022. Could a new ball have impacted Aaron Judge’s home run chase?

Major League Baseball still has a baseball problem, one that relates to the Yankees and a milestone chase.

According to Insider’s Bradford William Davis, Dr. Meredith Wills analyzed 204 game-used balls from the 2022 season. The Society for American Baseball Research award-winning astrophysicist’s research suggested that the league used three different balls throughout the year.

This report follows a 2021 Insider story that revealed the league had two different balls in circulation. One ball had a center weight approximately 2.5 grams heavier than the other.

By collecting, deconstructing, weighing and analyzing game balls from 22 parks, Wills’ new research found lighter “dead” balls, heavier “juiced” balls, and so-called “Goldilocks” balls – baseballs whose weight fell in the middle of the spectrum – were used in 2022. The “Goldilocks” balls were, on average, about 1.5 grams lighter than the “juiced” balls and one gram heavier than the “dead” ones.

Heavier balls should travel farther when met with equal force, and MLB previously said it would only use the “dead” balls in 2022.

Major League Baseball and Rawlings, who manufactures the balls, disputed Insider’s latest report and Wills’ findings. Insider noted that all the balls obtained fell within the specifications detailed in MLB's rulebook, and balls are handmade, so some variation is expected.

But Insider went on to explain that most of the “Goldilocks” balls, more batter-friendly than the “dead” balls, were found at three types of games/events:

• Postseason and World Series games.
  
• The All-Star Game and Home Run Derby.
  
• Regular season games that used balls with special commemorative stamps on the outer leather, such as the Rangers’ 50th anniversary ball.

However, there was an exception. The only “Goldilocks” balls Insider obtained from the regular season that did not have commemorative stamps came from Yankees games. Eleven such balls were obtained.

As Yankee and baseball fans may recall, Aaron Judge broke the franchise and single-season home run record this past season when he hit 62 dingers. The feat made Judge the first player without credible performance-enhancing drug connections to surpass Roger Maris’ previous A.L. record of 61. It also helped Judge win an MVP Award and positioned him for a record-breaking contract in free agency.

Of course, Judge and the Yankees don’t determine what balls make their way onto the field. As for MLB, Insider said that it “can't represent that any particular ball was sent for any particular reason to any particular game.” The story added that, “We don't know whether Judge hit a Goldilocks ball on his way toward breaking the record.” However, MLB could figure out which balls were used in which games if it wanted to, per Insider.

Based on MLB and commissioner Rob Manfred’s dismissive comments and statements in Insider’s story, such info won’t be publicly disclosed. That will leave some who read the story to question what impact the varying baseballs had on Judge’s season – which could thus continue debates about baseball’s record books, which already reached exhaustive levels as Judge marched toward No. 62.

Players and baseball fans across the country, meanwhile, will continue to wonder whether the game’s most important piece of equipment will find some semblance of consistency in the near future.

MORE:

• Yankees' Aaron Boone Reacts to Premature Report of Aaron Judge Signing With Giants
• Yankees Showing 'Very Real' Interest in Carlos Rodón, But Have Competition
• Giants Offer Aaron Judge Contract Around $360 Million in Free Agency

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