Balls are flying out of Triple-A ballparks like never before, coinciding with a switch in baseballs to the major league model.
The El Paso Chihuahuas have hit 89 home runs in their first 37 games — the most in professional baseball and more than half the 142 they slugged in 139 games last season. The Rochester Red Wings and Lehigh Valley IronPigs combined for 15 homers in a game last month. Overall, 26 of the 30 teams in the Pacific Coast League and International League are on pace to exceed their 2018 totals, most by a wide margin.
The price of the MLB ball is double that of the minor league ball, and MLB and the Triple-A teams are sharing the costs. The season-to-date increase was 52% in the PCL , which has always been hitter-friendly because of high-elevation ballparks in the West, and 87 percent in the IL. "The balls are flying more because they're decent balls instead of the inch-high seams," said the Pittsburgh Pirates' Bryan Reynolds, exaggerating the stitch height."I think that's how it should be. You should play with the ball you're going to play with when you're up here."
Naturally, the new ball has inflated Triple-A ERAs. In the PCL, 11 of the 16 teams are over 5.00; last year all but four teams were under 5.00. In the IL, five of the 14 teams were over 5.00; last year no team's ERA was that high. Ryan Weber is a case in point. The Boston Red Sox called him up from Triple-A Pawtucket on Sunday, and he pitched four scoreless innings of relief against the Baltimore Orioles on Monday.
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