The Astros won Game 2 of the World Series thanks to a flurry of dingers that we’ve literally never seen before in extra innings. Not just in the World Series, but in MLB in general. Astros’ ace Dallas Keuchel benefited from this, but that didn’t stop him from sharing his thoughts on whether the ball is juiced.
Dallas Keuchel believes MLB’s baseballs are juiced (and he doesn’t care)
Thursday’s Say Hey, Baseball looks at all those homers from World Series Game 2, and the Astros’ first Fall Classic victory.
Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images
“Obviously, the balls are juiced,’’ said Keuchel, who lost his voice in the celebration. “I think they’re juiced 100 percent. But it is what it is. I’m just glad we came out on top.’’
“There are really powerful guys in this league,’’ Keuchel said, “and they’re going to get theirs. But where you can tell a difference is the mid-range guy who’s hitting 20-plus home runs now.”
“That’s what Major League Baseball wants,’’ Keuchel said. “They want that exciting two home-run lead, and then they (the Dodgers) come back and hit another home run, and everybody’s still watching. That’s what they want. That’s what they’re getting.’’
Where’s the lie? MLB commissioner Rob Manfred talked up how fans love run scoring when he took over for Bud Selig, and then — poof — run scoring increased with the perfect counter to all the strikeouts: dingers. MLB denies the baseballs are any different, but multiple studies say otherwise.
Keuchel has the right idea, though. MLB wants the games to be more exciting, and they are. It’s not like only one team per game gets to try to launch these balls into orbit. The playing field is even, no one is being cheated, so ... what’s the issue?
There shouldn’t be one, and thankfully, you don’t hear much dissent to the likely change. This isn’t the first time MLB has messed with baseballs in their history — the Dead Ball era didn’t end on its own, and while the Steroid Era is known for, well, steroids, the baseballs were different then, too, and that helped increase offense. MLB has also lowered the mound to stop pitcher dominance before and increase run scoring: it’s a constant back-and-forth, and right now, hitters are the ones ahead in this tug-of-war thanks to the balls.
The result? One of the best World Series games we’ve ever seen. It’s hard to be upset about that.
- Game 2 was a good, well-pitched World Series game. Then it had baseballs bouncing off of body parts, relievers who don’t blow leads blowing leads, and a record number of extra innings dingers. This game had everything, and Grant Brisbee explains why that made it one of the best and wildest World Series games in years.
- Singling out the best homer of Game 2 of the World Series is unfair to the rest of them. So, instead, Whitney McIntosh ranked each of the eight dingers hit in 11 innings.
- The Dodgers remain confident after their Game 2 loss. And why shouldn’t they be? The chances Kenley Jansen would blow a game were low; the chances he’ll blow another are even lower.
- That’s not to say the Astros are setup to lose the rest of the series, by the way. It’s just not panic time yet.
- If you want to read highlights from the entire game, Wednesday night’s live blog is packed full of them.
- Charlie Culberson didn’t think he tied up Game 2 with his extra-innings dinger. He was just very excited!
- Cameron Maybin won America free tacos with his stolen base, and for that, we must thank him.
- A World Series ad swallowed George Springer’s head.
- Chris Taylor’s hat took a baseball to the brim, and that ... kept a run from scoring? Game 2 was wild as heck.
- Dodgers’ owner Magic Johnson showed up to the FOX preshow, so David Ortiz started asking him about LeBron James and Magic’s other enterprise, the Lakers.
- Speaking of the NBA, Chris Sale’s get-well video for injured Celtics’ star Gordon Hayward is worth watching until the end.
- Vin Scully and some very special Dodgers’ guests threw out the ceremonial first pitch in Game 2.
- You can tell the Marlins are going to trade Giancarlo Stanton, because Derek Jeter hasn’t said a word to him yet.
- Wednesday was the 30th anniversary of the Twins winning the 1987 World Series, so here are 10 forgettable moments from that Fall Classic.
- Alex Bregman has quickly shown why the Astros considered him untouchable in trade talks.
- The Phillies’ manager search continues.
Why the first World Series went to Game 8
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