Report: MLB will ask teams to store baseballs in climate-controlled rooms
Major League Baseball may be looking into putting a freeze on the number of home runs being hit across the league.
MLB will take control of how all 30 teams store their game-used baseballs in an effort to standardize the process, according to sources familiar with the league's plan, reports Tom Verducci of Sports Illustrated.
Baseballs must be stored in "an air-conditioned and enclosed room" this season, Verducci adds, with MLB planning to install climate sensors in each room to measure temperature and humidity during the 2018 season.
The data will then be used to determine if humidors are necessary in individual store rooms for 2019.
The report of MLB's standardized plan comes after a season which saw record-breaking home run numbers amid complaints from pitchers about the varying shapes, grips, and seams of baseballs.
Related: Price, other pitchers convinced something's wrong with baseballs
Until this season, baseballs were stored by teams at their own discretion, which apparently led to differences in temperatures and humidity in storage areas. This could affect the shape and trajectory of a ball's flight, Verducci explained.
HEADLINES
- Raleigh successful on 1st All-Star robot umpire challenge
- MLB lockout looms in December 2026 with salary-cap fight at center
- Rays would play 2025 postseason games at Steinbrenner Field
- MLBers could participate in 2028 Olympics over extended All-Star break
- Robot umps to make ASG debut, step toward possible 2026 regular-season use