ST. LOUIS — Recently, two baseballs circulated the Pirates clubhouse. They were procured by a pitcher, the anonymous chief inspector in this undercover investigation, and were passed from player to player, each offering his opinion on whether the balls differed. One was from 2014, the year run production in the majors hit its lowest point since 1976. The other was from 2017.
Major League Baseball’s popularity has rebounded in recent years, and so has the long ball. At the current rate, 1.27 homers per game, the league’s previous home-run record, set in 2000 at the peak of the steroid era, will be broken in mid-September and shattered by season’s end.