AP: Company Says 1998 Baseballs Juiced (Big Mac's 70th)

Company Claims '98 Baseballs Were Juiced

January 04, 2007 12:13 EST
CLEVELAND - A company that uses computer imaging claims baseballs had a larger rubberized core and a synthetic rubber ring in 1998, including the ball Mark McGwire hit for his 70th homer.

Universal Medical Systems Inc. said Wednesday that with the assistance of Drs. Avrami S. Grader and Dr. Philip M. Halleck from The Center for Quantitative Imaging at Penn State, it took images of 1998 baseballs.

"Examining the CT images of Mark McGwire's 70th home run ball one can clearly see the synthetic ring around the core - or 'pill' - of the baseball," UMS president David Zavagno said. "While Mark McGwire may or may not have used illegal steroids, the evidence shows his ball - under the governing body of the league - was juiced."

But Bob DuPuy, baseball's chief operating officer, said the core of the ball has been unchanged for decades. Rawlings has been the exclusive supplier of baseballs to the major leagues since 1977.

"All of our balls are subject to rigorous quality control standards and testing conducted by Rawlings," DuPuy said. "No changes have been made to the core of the ball through the entire time they have manufactured it."

UMS specifically examined the ball McGwire hit for No. 70 - a record surpassed when Barry Bonds hit 73 homers in 2001. Zavagno said the company tested about 35 baseballs in all.

McGwire is on the Hall of Fame ballot for the first time this year, and results will be announced Tuesday by the Baseball Writers' Association of America.

"The synthetic rubber ring of the modern-day baseball, in this case that of Mark McGwire's prized 70th home run ball, acts as both a spring and a `stop,'" Zavagno said. "Much like a sling shot pulled back 10 or 20 degrees farther than normal, the subsequent restitution or rebound allows an object to fly faster and farther."

Baseball spokesman Rich Levin said what UMS calls a rubber ring is more like a cardboard washer.


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Re: AP: Company Claims 1998 Baseballs Juiced (Big Mac's 70th HR)

Way to go d_b... like everyone in baseball didn't know the balls were as juiced as the players in the late 90s.
At least they talked about the balls being juiced. They ignored the juiced players.

Pitchers talked about it all the time... tighter seams, different feel to the ball, higher bounce if you dropped it on a hard surface...

 

Re: AP: Company Says 1998 Baseballs Juiced (Big Mac's 70th HR)

Wheeeeeeeee .... I'm being spunnnnnn .... Timing must be a coincidence.

 

Re: AP: Company Says 1998 Baseballs Juiced (Big Mac's 70th HR)

And you reported it, right spnited?

 

Re: AP: Company Says 1998 Baseballs Juiced (Big Mac's 70th HR)

Looks like Big Mac was the benificiary of the 'perfect storm' for HR's. Juiced baseballs + steroids/HGH + bad watered down expansion pitching = records

 

Re: AP: Company Says 1998 Baseballs Juiced (Big Mac's 70th HR)

With proof that MLB juiced the baseballs for image recovery? I don't remember that.

 

Re: AP: Company Says 1998 Baseballs Juiced (Big Mac's 70th HR)

MLB doesn't have to admit to anything, the computer imaging tests speak for themselves. Hitting coaches telling stories at BP is totally different than cold, hard evidence.

 

Re: AP: Company Says 1998 Baseballs Juiced (Big Mac's 70th HR)

d_b is reporting that baseballs in the 1920s were juiced....the beneficiaries include George Herman Ruth, aka Babe Ruth, a portly pitcher-turned-outfielder who plays for the New York Yankees and is a former member of the Boston Red Sox.

In other news, Ban Johnson has announced that the new "American League" will classify itself as a professional major league in direct competition with the established National League.

 

Re: AP: Company Says 1998 Baseballs Juiced (Big Mac's 70th HR)

I was more busting spnited's old balls for acting like a self-righteous, omnipotent asshole ALL THE TIME.

 

How many more black eyes can this sport take?