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In what has seemingly become an annual tradition, a Major League Baseball player has come out and claimed that the baseballs are different this year. This year it’s Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen who is making the first accusation.
On Saturday, New York Mets reporter Ben Yoel posted a video of a baseball being hit by the team’s star outfielder Juan Soto that the entire stadium thought was going to be a home run. However, instead of leaving the park, the baseball ended up nestled in the glove of the Tampa Bay Rays’ right fielder at the warning track. Yoel wrote alongside the video, “You can’t convince me MLB isn’t using dead balls.”
You can’t convince me MLB isn’t using dead balls. pic.twitter.com/1FydngsX9Q
— Ben Yoel (@Ben_Yoel) June 14, 2025
Andrew McCutchen saw his comment and the video of Juan Soto and replied with a comment of his own, fueling the annual conspiracy that the baseballs are different this year in Major League Baseball.
“I was told by a rep for MLB that the balls are indeed different this year,” the 17-year veteran wrote on X. “They stated ‘higher seams’ which produces more drag on baseball, causing baseballs to not travel as far as they should. When asked why, I was told ‘every baseball is hand sewn so no ball is the same.’ When I asked if there is something that can be done about correcting the current performance of this years baseball, I was told there was ‘nothing’ that can be done about it this season BUT, they are ‘working hard on getting to the bottom of why the seams are higher.’ So, yea you’re not wrong Ben.”
A’s star Brent Rooker and others also believe the baseballs aren’t traveling as far. “I’ve definitely hit some balls that I thought were gonna have a chance and they’ve been caught against the wall,” said Rooker.
Adding even more fuel to the baseball conspiracy fire was an article published by The Athletic on Friday. “MLB’s baseball is behaving differently again, but no one seems to know why,” the headline read.
In that article, Eno Sarris and Evan Drellich wrote, “Deep flies aren’t flying as far this year in Major League Baseball, and the league office is acknowledging as much.”
They also stated that, using publicly available data, there has “been more drag on the ball in 2025 than in any of the other nine seasons that MLB has tracked it.” On average, they wrote, “equally hard-hit fly balls are coming up 4 feet short.”
When asked about it, Major League Baseball spokesperson Glen Caplin stated, “We are aware of an increase in average drag this season and have provided information to the Major League Baseball Players Association on this issue as our experts continue to study any potential causes beyond normal variability in a product made by hand with natural materials. There has been no change to the manufacturing, storage or handling of baseballs this year, and all baseballs remain within specifications.”
MLB also pointed out that home runs per ball in play are at 4.2 percent this year, 0.1 percent higher than in 2024; the league batting average is .244, compared to .240 in 2024; and runs per game are only down 0.1 per game in 2025 vs. 2024. Not much of a difference.