Dr. Meredith Wills
@Bbl_Astrophyscs
Followers
12,009
Following
2,866
Media
3,145
Statuses
43,732
Astrophysics PhD, Data Scientist, Serial Baseball Dissector, HOF (really!).
Ask me tomorrow...
Joined April 2010
Don't wanna be here?
Send us removal request.
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Last Seen Profiles
Pinned Tweet
Did I mention I need baseballs—starting *NOW*? Each team gets a new shipment every month, meaning April baseballs are likely to be difft from May ones etc. Also, difft parks usually get difft balls. (Yes, I know that’s a lot!) I NEED YOUR HELP!!! 🙏⚾️⚾️👀
Home runs are being hit at just over 2.0 per game and down 15% vs last year. A main reason appears to be that the ball isn't flying as far.
Carry distance is on level with the notorious dead ball April of 2022. 🧵⬇️
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You get to introduce someone to baseball, but you can only show them one video. What is it?
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Buried lede of the East Palestine toxic plume: they didn’t have to dump out the tankers and burn the chemicals. It was faster and cheaper for Norfolk Southern to create an environmental disaster.
16) “THESE ARE NOT EFFING STORM CLOUDS”—the frustrated resident says: the contents of the train could have been transferred into tankers but instead it was set on fire to save time and money.
#OhioChernobyl
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For people who want to know what goes into (and I take out of) a baseball, this video is great. Slight correction tho: the “wool” yarn is a poly-wool blend, and the “poly-wool” thread they mention is cotton.
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Dear
@MLB
,
If this keeps up (or even if it doesn’t), can you please please PLEASE 🙏 get rid of blackouts? If local fans without cable—and there are a lot of us—can’t watch games at all, you may discover many have disappeared after this is over.
Sincerely,
Baseball fans ⚾️
The Mariners have discussed playing home games in Arizona if COVID-19 leads to government restrictions on events in Seattle:
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@neiltyson
There are 10 types of people in the world: those who understand binary and those who don’t. 🤓
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THIS. WINS. TWITTER. Actual broadcast by
@BenHigginsSD
and
@10News
. (I’ve posted it with no context on purpose. Turn the sound up!)
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Because I figured out how the 2019 ball is different and causing the HR Surge? ⚾️💁🏼♀️ (PLEASE LIKE AND RT? I REALLY WANT TO GO!!!)
Yes, the baseball is different — again. An astrophysicist examines this year’s baseballs and breaks down the changes
I’m giving away all 4 of my diamond level seats for Wednesday’s WC game! RT with why you deserve a pair! Most likes gets in final poll on Tuesday!
@Athletics
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Actually... This is scary easy to make, and only requires one baseball. Would anyone want to knit their own? If I get 10,000 RTs—is that possible?—I’ll post the pattern (FREE), and you won’t need to spend $225 for a hat that can’t be verified as from a game-used ball anyway.
Wow! Looks like MLB has discovered you can knit things out of baseball yarn! What a GREAT idea! (Wonder how they thought of it...? 🤔🧶🤦🏼♀️)
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WOW. This is literally my first research award. It means so much to know that my baseball research has made—and is continuing to make—a difference. MLB can do better. I know that. You know that. Meanwhile, I’ll keep digging. The answers are there.
#SABRanalytics
#ItsTheBall
⚾️
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Drumroll please…🥁… 🥁… 🥁…
🚨⚾️ THE 2019 BASEBALL IS DIFFERENT! ⚾️🚨 Very different. (Did I mention it was different?) Here’s my article on
@TheAthleticMLB
showing how.
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To those of you who now have no sympathy, please remember that nobody dies this way unless they’re hiding a serious addiction. I’ve seen it. I’ve watched people I love struggle to gain control of their lives. Some people do. Tyler didn’t. If you’re not an addict, don’t judge.
Toxicology report reveals fentanyl, oxycodone and alcohol found in Tyler Skaggs' system when he was found dead
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🧵 Based on what we’ve seen of the new dead ball and its response to humidity, I suspect the changes MLB implemented in its “concern for improving consistency” may have led to the least consistent ball the game has ever seen. 1/
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Hey
@MLB
: If the “balls that are used in the Postseason are pulled from the same batches as the balls used in the regular season”, could you please provide the Batch Designation rubric used to identify the time of contruction, so we can validate that?
BREAKING: MLB issues statement on baseballs used in postseason. “Balls that are used in the Postseason are pulled from the same batches as balls used in the regular season.... only difference is the stamp placed on the ball.” Additional comments:
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Baseball Twitter timeline cleanser: here is a side-by-side comparison of the cross-sections of a Major League and Minor League baseball. Cool, huh?
#YouCantJudgeABaseballByItsCover
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It’s hard to overstate how truly amazing
#Athletics
fans are. Everyone, really—stadium workers, ushers, security. It’s a family. MLB should want every team to have a fan base like this. Fisher doesn’t get it, and A’s fans deserve better.
#RootedInOakland
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@craigcalcaterra
Somebody pointed out that the cowboy hat on the Houston cap has an asterisk on it, and now I can’t un-see it.
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Dear Kevin Long,
Guess what? I *AM* a scientist, and I can tell you for sure if it’s a different baseball. Really. That’s what I do.
- Dr. Meredith Wills, astrophysicist and serial discoverer of changes to the MLB baseball (2017, 2019, 2019 Postseason, 2020, 2021…) ⚾️⚾️👀
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The coolest part of last night’s
#Athletics
protest (🎥🧵👇): A few min in, the PA went silent, so the chants could be heard clearly. Didn’t even announce the A’s batters (hence missing Langeliers’ 2-run triple.) A’s employees got our backs! 💛💚🥹
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Wow! Looks like MLB has discovered you can knit things out of baseball yarn! What a GREAT idea! (Wonder how they thought of it...? 🤔🧶🤦🏼♀️)
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Media: Astros cheated!
MLB Report: Player-driven. We’re done.🩹
Astros: What MLB said.
Media: Codebreaker!🎥💻
Teams: We told MLB before.😠
Everyone: WELL?!
Astros: Get over it.😏
MLB: 🦗🦗🦗
Players: 😤🤬💥
Astros: HELP! They’re after us!😱
Everyone: 🎻
Baseball: 🤪⚾️🤪⚾️
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Maybe baseball really does bring people together… Wow.
For years, the
@MLB
has been granted a special exemption that gives them antitrust advantages over other sports leagues.
Following recent controversies with the MLB, legislation was introduced to repeal the exemption and promote fair competition.
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.
@UniWatch
Has anyone else ever had a jersey name going down to their waist?
@ToddRadom
@PhilHecken
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If the pitch clock is going to decrease game times to two and a half hours, remind me why we need a ghost runner to shorten extra innings?
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@ActuallyEmerson
Thank you for putting this out there—both because it made me laugh and because it’s easily the best DIY mask I’ve seen.
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A bit of personal news: Instead is succumbing to pandemic weight gain, I did right by me.😊 I made lifestyle changes, stuck with them, and exactly one year later, there are 48 lbs less of me. Frankly, I’m pretty proud of myself. 💁🏼♀️
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Finally: the 2020 baseball study! This one is weird. Balls with two sets of specs (tho externally identical) appeared in 2020 games, and the new balls carried farther (EV ≠ drag). And MLB didn’t say anything till we asked. (With
@stephapstein
on
@SInow
)
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⚾️🚨2019 POSTSEASON BALL ALERT!🚨⚾️
So, MLB’s thing about how “all 2019 postseason balls came from regular season batches”? Well... um... NO. They didn’t. I found evidence of where they DID come from, and why.
#ItsTheBall
@TheAthleticMLB
@TheAthletic
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The spatial reasoning and physics intuition that went into this is, frankly, mindblowing. 🤯
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Kudos to
@KevinGausman
for pointing out that, until MLB stops monkeying with the ball, policing sticky stuff doesn’t make much sense. (And kudos to
@jaysonst
for noting it won’t happen soon. Most of the balls we’ll see in 2023 already exist.) ⚾️⚾️⚾️👀
My latest column:
MLB is trying again to stop pitchers from using “sticky stuff.”
Any chance it works this time?
Players will believe it when they see it happen.
I know because I asked them.
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Javy Báez may literally have just pulled off the savviest baserunning play in the history of the game. And no, I’m not exaggerating.
@thorn_john
, would you care to weigh in?
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Top of the fifth. Total silence to honor the
#Athletics
55 years in Oakland. This is so powerful! (🔊 UP)
#ReverseBoycott
#OAKtogether
#RootedInOakland
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🚨⚾️ Because this season’s baseball crisis is more serious than usual—“more serious than usual”? That’s insane!—I’m opening my DMs. *PLEASE* contact me about sending baseballs. I need a LOT, from different parks over the entire season. Please help. This is important! ⚾️🚨
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🚨⚾️ 2021 MLB BASEBALL STUDY RESULTS! ⚾️🚨
Used two difft balls ☑️
Made two difft balls (again!) ☑️
Didn’t tell people ☑️
Didn’t correct “new ball only” assumptions ☑️
(Per
@BWDBWDBWD
via
@thisisinsider
: players, coaches, scouts, execs are NOT happy…😤)
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🚨”The data is conclusive in showing that THE PLAYOFF BASEBALL IS VERY DIFFERENT FROM THE ONE USED IN THE REGULAR SEASON. But we’re still left with the question of why.” 🚨
Yep.
@No_Little_Plans
has what may be the biggest story of the postseason. (And yes, I’m on it!)
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This is literally embarrassing. Do better, MLB…and Nike…and Fanatics. The game deserves more.
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Cool ⚾️ news!!! My
@TheAthleticMLB
work on the MLB ball is a research poster finalist at
@SloanSportsConf
! Can’t wait to show (yep, show-and-tell) the sports community what’s been happening (including new postseason results.)
#SSAC20
#ItsTheBall
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“[Jayson] Stark talks with a baseball executive who tells him that, from a development perspective, the PCL has now become essentially useless, and they are sending prospects to Double-A instead because the juiced ball is preventing clubs from accurately assessing players.”
Triple-A homers increased by nearly 60% this season thanks to the juiced baseball via
@HardballTalk
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Unpopular take: 2.5 hours feels like too little baseball… 😢
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Because when I think “tie game, B9, bases loaded, 2 outs, 3-2 count,” the dramatic and satisfying ending I crave is a pitch clock violation…
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So, this means a SEVENTH study? *sigh* 🙄 (Baseballs! I need baseballs!!! If you can help, my DMs are open. ⚾️⚾️⚾️👀)
Alex Cora on so many HR: “This is different man, I’ve never seen something like this so early in the season. The ball is flying.”
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Per my dad (an expert in money laundering), a typical red flag is changing the spelling of a name on a wire transfer. (Note: I did *not* tell him about this part of the ESPN story. He volunteered the info.) 😬
I hate this…
*third cup of coffee kicks in*
*Craig remembers how relatively complicated it is to effect even a five-figure wire transfer, which suggests that someone just up and pretending to be you and making an unauthorized one is not something one really has to worry about*
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I did NOT expect to wake up to a picture of myself in
@thetimes
.🇬🇧
#TwoBaseballs
(h/t
@REassom
and
@batflips_nerds
)
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The latest HOF Knitter blog post is up. We're back to baseball sweaters, and man, have I got pictures of some nice ones! Visiting
@baseballhall
is always worth it!
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So Oakland’s fan-organized
#FansFest2024
drew THREE TIMES as many people as the
#Athletics
’ first Spring Training game?… 🤔 💚💛🐘⚾️
#StayInOakland
The FansFest attendance has been estimated at around 15-20K — at the event’s peak — per Bloc15, the event location in Jack London Square.
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“I haven’t felt in the mood to talk ball today. I just wanted to say to Buffalo, to Uvalde…we mourn with you. You have our love. You have our support… You’re not alone. We think about you." Thank you, Joey Votto, for not sticking to sports. ❤️
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Wow. I just realized that reaching this conclusion required a detailed knowledge of physics, baseball, and fiber arts. Who would’ve thought those skill sets would ever come together? 💁🏼♀️
After her earlier study showed that MLB’s newer baseballs have thicker laces,
@Bbl_Astrophyscs
studied the ball further to find out *how* that small change could have caused the home run surge:
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Generally, I’m not a fan of the Wave, but tonight I’ll make an exception. (Three decks! And it’s still going!)
#Athletics
#ReverseBoycott
#OAKtogether
#RootedInOakland
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A shift on Mickey Mantle 60-70 years ago, with an outfielder on the edge of the infield and all of the infielders either on the edge of the grass or in the outfield. But yeah, sure, make infielders stay in and ban that newfangled shift. They’re destroying the game!
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Now, can we *please* do something about the ball??? ⚾️⚾️👀
BREAKING: The MLB uniform fiasco of this spring is finally being addressed, according to an MLBPA memo obtained by ESPN:
"Nike was innovating something that didn’t need to be innovated.”
Details of the coming changes, timing free and unlocked at ESPN:
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Impressive array of signs from
#Athletics
fans! Here are the ones I can read. In right field:
KAVAL OUT
HELL A’S SELL
KAVAL WEASEL
SELL
#FISHEROUT
SINK OLD NAVY
🚫 GAP
OVERTHROW (???)
ROOTED?
KAVAL=LIAR
SELL
BASEBALL B4 BILLIONAIRES
STAY
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“They’re all different. The 1st inning they’re decent. The 3rd inning they’re bad. The 4th inning they’re okay. The 5th inning they’re bad… There’s no common ground with the balls. There’s nothing the same outing to outing. They’re bad.”
#TwoBaseballs
? 🤔
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Hey all! Here's the (first) article on the postseason baseballs. It was a long, strange trip, and while I found answers, they were NOTHING like I expected. Give it a read, and then follow up with this amazing piece by
@KatieJStrang
. It's worth it!
So, what was up with the playoff baseballs? ⚾️
@Bbl_Astrophyscs
tried to find the answer by acquiring three dozen of them from Rawlings but was left with a lot more questions:
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MLB: I want tacos! Want to get tacos?
PA: Sure! I like tacos.
MLB: Okay, but we can only go if you pay for the margaritas.
PA: But I don’t like margaritas. And weren’t you the one who brought up tac—
MLB: And drive. And before you ask, no, I’m not chipping in for gas.
Symptomatic of where baseball is: all sides wanted the universal DH a year ago, but it didn’t happen because they couldn’t agree.
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#Athletics
2 -
#RaysUp
1. The game is over. Chants still going. Nobody is leaving. Wow.
#ReverseBoycott
#OAKtogether
#RootedInOakland
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Nights like this remind you that, occasionally, baseball is touched by the divine.
#45
#nohitter
#TheHaloWay
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You know you’ve made it when people quote your own results back to you without realizing you’re the source... 😋💁🏼♀️
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.
@neiltyson
talking about ME!!! My life is complete! I can die happy!!! 😊😊😊
MYSTERY SOLVED.
@neiltyson
and
@chucknicecomic
discuss why Meredith Wills (
@Bbl_Astrophyscs
) may have found the hidden reason for the
@MLB
's recent home run surge.
Hear the interview with the woman herself here:
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More specifically, 201 bases on 203 attempts—and that was just 1946. Over her 9-year
@AAGPBL
career, Sophie Kurys stole 1,114 bases. Rickey Henderson was the only player in any high-level pro league to steal more (1,406 in 24 years), and it took him 15 years to break her record.
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⚾️⚾️ THE WOMEN SWEPT!!!!!!! ⚾️⚾️
Congratulations to
@EmilyCWaldon
,
@rumhamlet
, and
@Bbl_Astrophyscs
, winners of the 2020
#SABRanalytics
Conference Research Awards! Read their award-winning articles here:
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I’m working on it. I think humidity might be a factor—running an experiment w a DIY humidor, in fact—but the 2021 balls I’ve seen so far don’t make much sense (for LOTS of reasons). I need more baseballs, from as many parks as possible. Please reach out if you can help! ⚾️🙏
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Let me get this straight:
1)
#Astros
steal signs, so they know what pitch is coming = no punishment
2) Pitchers retaliate with HBPs = HARSH punishment
3) Pitchers stop throwing inside
4) Astros know what pitch is coming...
(There’s a logical fallacy in here, right? 🤔🤷🏼♀️)
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So,
@Deadspin
tweeted this 20 minutes ago, and now it seems to be suspended. Huh?
http://t.co/m5pMLiQ0HI
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@PitchingNinja
@jareddiamond
On the other hand, were it not for Fiers, none of this would be happening...
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And in left field:
THIEF
LIAR
#FISHEROUT
SELL
SELL
OAKLAND FOREVER
$ELL
Kudos to
#Athletics
fans. They’re not going down without a fight!
fin/
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Fun baseball factoid (because we need some fun): Clyde Tombaugh was
@ClaytonKersh22
's great-uncle. ⚾️🪐
90 years ago today Clyde discovered Pluto. His ashes flew past Pluto in 2015!
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So, when a pitcher talks about how the substance crackdown has forced him to grip the ball more tightly? This is the set of muscles he’s had to start using.
Dodgers putting Clayton Kershaw on the 10-day IL with left forearm inflammation.
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I don’t get why people fear or reject science. Scientific findings are literally set up to be disproven by further science. If you don’t like/agree with them, great—do you own research and disprove them. Please!! We want you to!! But don’t pretend science has a dog in the fight.
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Per
@MLBONFOX
: “Baseball is ever-evolving,…but the one constant is the baseball itself….”*️⃣
*️⃣ Except in 2017…and 2019…and the 2019 PS…and 2020…and 2021…and 2022…and…🧐
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@starstrickenSF
@Toolsy_Fielder
Have they gotten to the point where they tell you about all this great research that’s been done and send you links to your own articles? 🙄😂
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I’m about to find out how long it takes to unlace 18 baseballs in one go… ⏱⚾️🪡
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Objective testing isn’t actually that hard. Come up with a standard testing object (a wiffle ball, say). If the hand/glove/hat brim is sticky enough to keep the ball from falling due to gravity, it breaks the rules. The substance shouldn’t matter.
From Max Scherzer's agent Scott Boras: 1/"MLB standards and rules enforcement should mandate and require an objective verifiable standard . If you want to attack the integrity of the competition you need clear precise standards else you damage the game and it players .
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Wow. We are quite literally becoming a police state.
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While I get the point being made, this just confuses the issue. We know the source is lower drag rather than COR. People use “juiced” because there isn’t a separate term for “more HRs due to lower drag.” Until we have one, “juiced” is easier. Hairsplitting isn’t productive.
It’s Physics: Juiced Balls Don’t Explain the Home Run Explosion
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Regardless, Manfred stated goal of “improving consistency” is really, really not happening. This new ball is redefining “inconsistent.” At this point, I’m all for scrapping this new deadened design and the humidors. They’ve only made things worse. FIN/
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Personal update: My dad is dealing w serious health issues, so since July, I’ve been his primary caregiver. If you’re noticing a lack of engagement that’s why. I’ll keep you apprised, but it’ll be a while yet. Meantime, think good thoughts for the best baseball dad ever. ❤️🥎
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Baseball geekiness: check out a dirty BP ball vs a game ball. Since the mud on a BP ball is from the field, it doesn’t get into the pores. OTOH, a rubbed-up game ball has mud embedded in the pores, but is clean otherwise. Once you know to look, it’s easy to tell the diff! 🤓⚾️💁🏼♀️
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Wow! Seeing as I’ve already done this TWICE (2017 and 2019 Gome Run Surges), do I get a Nobel Prize or something? 💁🏼♀️ (Actually, I probably also need to show how the 2019 postseason ball is different before that happens. I’m on it, guys!)
Why doesn’t a scientist take a couple baseballs and cut em open. Prove if it’s different or not...You’ll be the most famous scientist in the world. Easy.
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Anyone who doesn’t think white privilege is real, look at this vs. what’s happening now, keeping in mind that the DoD has just refused to deploy the National Guard.
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Yet another underattended game at the Coliseum. First pitch in a half hour. So far, everybody within 50 feet of me has been asked at least once to show their ticket, just in case they’re trying to grab a better seat. SERIOUSLY???
#DrumTogether
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Pretty sure this is just a
@DSzymborski
prompt saying, “Put a baseball park inside the Sydney Opera House and set in down in Las Vegas.”
Together with
@BIG_Architects
and
@HNTBCorp
, we have unveiled the design for our new ballpark project in Las Vegas on the Tropicana site. BIG will serve as the design lead and HNTB as the sports/hospitality designer and architect of record.
Images by Negativ
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