Fact Check: Did MLB manipulate baseballs to increase league's home run pace? Looking back at Justin Verlander's viral claim

During the 2019 MLB season, pitchers had a hard time keeping the ball inside the ballpark. Home run numbers surged that season compared to previous seasons, leaving some players scratching their heads.

2019 saw 6,776 home runs between the American League and National League. That was, and still is, the most home runs ever hit during a single season in the big leagues.

Three-time Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander believed the league altered the baseballs to bring more excitement to the game. He was critical of the league for their alleged attempt to increase home run numbers.

"Major League Baseball's turning this game into a joke. They own Rawlings, and you've got Manfred up here saying it might be the way they center the pill," said Verlander (via CBS Sports).

MLB acquired Rawlings, the official baseball of the league, in 2018. Verlander believed that Commissioner Rob Manfred altered the baseballs.

"Manfred the first time he came in, what'd he say? He said 'We want more offense.' All of a sudden he comes in, the balls are juiced? It's not a coincidence. We're not idiots," added Verlander.

However, Manfred acknowledged the players and the fans' worries that season. He denied any league involvement in altering the baseballs for higher offensive numbers ahead of the All-Star game.

"Our scientists that have been now studying the baseball more regularly have told us that this year the baseball has a little less drag. It doesn't need to change very much in order to produce meaningful change in terms of the way the game is payed on the field," said Manfred (via ESPN).

Manfred believes the increase in home runs was due to the baseballs having less drag than normal. That was an answer that did not satisfy many players or fans.

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Studies have shown no evidence in the past, but some MLB players believe otherwise

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In 2000, Jim Sherwood, a professor at Umass Lowell, tested baseballs manufactured by Rawlings used by MLB. He found no differences in the baseballs used over the last 16 seasons.

But In 2019, former Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Emilio Pagan complained about the laces on the baseballs and how they affected him.

Players and fans consistently questioning whether the league alters baseballs is not a good look. Expect the baseballs to be a talking point this upcoming season if home run numbers surge.