Rob Manfred has had to deal with his fair share of snafus in his time as commissioner. There have been domestic violence scandals. There have been international spending scandals. More recently, there have been scandals relating to scarcely attended teams being moved to hang up shingle in another city.
Through all of it, a persistent kerfuffle has been made about one undeniably loud trend—the sustained return of the home run.
In 2017, a new league record was set when batters parked out a collective 6,105 long balls. This year, through roughly half a season, the league has deposited 3,185 dingers—well on pace to set yet another record.