MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred insists that _ contrary to Justin Verlander's claims _ baseballs have not been juiced.
"There has been no intentional alteration in the manufacturing process (of baseballs)," Manfred said.
This season, baseballs have been getting blasted at record pace. Hitters are on track to hit 6,668 homers this year, blowing past the 2017 record.
Though Manfred stressed that he would not "respond specifically" to Verlander, his statement stands in stark contrast to the Astros ace's accusatory comments about the league's intent to increase offense by changing the ball. The hurler, who will take the ball (which he told ESPN was "a f------ joke" on Monday) for the American League in Tuesday's All-Star Game, launched an expletive-laden tirade about the rise in home runs.
"They've been using juiced balls in the Home Run Derby forever. They know how to do it. It's not (a) coincidence. I find it really hard to believe that Major League Baseball owns Rawlings and just coincidentally the balls become juiced."
Verlander also called out Manfred by name. "They own Rawlings, and you've got Manfred up here saying it might be the way they center the pill. They own the f------ company."
"We all know what happened. 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."
Though Verlander has limited home runs throughout his Hall of Fame-caliber career, 18.7% of his fly balls have gone for home runs in 2019, up nearly 10 percentage points from his career.
Manfred added that the league needed to be "transparent and forward-looking."
