Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) the group who runs baseball in Japan has admitted that they have altered the baseball’s this season, in an attempt to produce more offence. Commissioner Ryozo Kato has now apologized for the move, saying, “I’ve caused a lot of trouble for the fans, players and people connected to the game. Baseball is very important in Japan’s sporting culture and I have to carefully reflect on my responsibility to the game.”
Japanese officials admitted to making the move in an attempt to make the game more exciting, and to have more runs scored. The tighter wound core, and ball is supposed to lead to balls leaving the bat at greater speed and travelling farther.
NPB officials have admitted that they asked Mizuno, the official baseball manufacturer of NPB, to create balls with more bounce off the bat.
The move has had dramatic results on the game in Japan. Last season there were 881 home runs hit in the NPB. In 2011 that number was 939. So far this season the league is on pace for nearly 1300 dingers. This proves that physics really does work, do your homework kids. With a 40% increase in home runs this season people began to get suspicious and questions were asked as early as April about the baseball. NPB management had denied any changes until this week.
The changes were made without consulting the players first, and the players and fans have been kept in the dark until recently.
MLB have been accused of altering baseballs over the years in order to produce more offence, whether it was in the 1930s, in 1987, and again in the mid 90s. However they have never taken the step of admitting that it was actually done.
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