Baseball’s Historic Surge in Home Runs Is Powered by a New Kind of Juice

Don’t be surprised if you witness a barrage of home runs during the 2025 Major League Baseball All-Star Game Tuesday night at Atlanta’s Truist Park. Not since the steroid-fueled era of the 1990s has the long ball been so prevalent, thanks to advanced technology, applicable science, and old-fashioned muscle and skill.At just past the halfway point of the season, five players are on pace to surpass 50 home runs for the season, with Cal Raleigh of the Seattle Mariners standing at 38 after 96 games and Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees at 35. Shohei Ohtani, the Los Angeles Dodgers’s two-way star, has 32 homers at the break, while Eugenio Suarez of the Arizona Diamondbacks has 31 and Kyle Schwarber of the Philadelphia Phillies has 30.Not so long ago, skeptics might have pointed to juiced baseballs and juiced players as being behind the surge of home runs. Disgraced sluggers like Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Mark McGwire, and Sammy Sosa were praised for their ability to hit the long ball until allegations of steroid use tainted their exploits and kept them out of the Hall of Fame.This new group of sluggers is fueled by AI-driven feedback, advanced technology like the creation of Torpedo bats, reduced emphasis on situational play, enhanced player development, suspected hitter-friendly baseballs, and climate change. Yes, climate change.A study found that global warming added an average of 58 home runs each year between 2010 and 2019, based on warmer temperatures allowing baseballs to travel farther.But it can’t all be blamed on the weather.Torpedo bats were all the rage earlier in the season when the Yankees belted 13 home runs over two games against the Milwaukee Brewers. The barrel of a Torpedo bat is closer to the hands, making it more balanced.Instant feedback from AI-powered technology is also helping hitters to recognize tendencies, pitch location, swing path, and launch angles as soon as they return to the dugout.Theories that the baseballs have changed also persist. Some pitchers said the seams feel lower and the cover slightly tighter. Others said the seams are higher. MLB has denied manipulation of the baseball, saying in a statement, “There has been no change to the manufacturing, storage, or handling of baseballs this year, and all baseballs remain within specifications.”While AI-technology, Torpedo bats, biomechanics, and global warming might be having an impact, the players are also getting stronger and smarter. Suspicion was raised in the 1990s when Messrs. Bonds and McGwire drastically turned their bodies into baseball’s version of the Incredible Hulk. Soon, performance-enhancing drugs were as much a part of baseball as the curveball.Today’s players start building their bodies and swings while they are teenagers, producing players like Messrs. Judge and Ohtani, who are breaking records through natural talent more than technology.Mr. Judge, who will be playing in his seventh All-Star Game, on Saturday became the fastest player to reach 350 career home runs. The 33-year-old, who carries a .355 batting average at the break, needed just 1,088 games to reach the milestone in his eighth year in the major leagues. The 6-foot-7 two-time AL MVP said he primarily uses reps in the cage, hitting off a tee with a traditional bat, to discipline his eye and enhance his brute strength.“I don’t need a computer to tell me I missed a fastball,” Mr. Judge said earlier this year. “I know when I square it up, and I know when I don’t. That’s baseball.”In 2024, Mr. Ohtani became the first player in Major League history to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases. He is on pace to hit 55 home runs this year despite returning to the mound as a starting pitcher.Mr. Raleigh is not a physical specimen on the scale of Mr. Judge or Mr. Ohtani. At 6-3, his physique earned him the nickname “Big Dumper” for his posterior. The switch-hitting catcher, however, swings a thunderous bat. His 38th home run on Friday night, his second of the game, was a grand slam that set the American League record for most home runs before the All-Star break. He’s had six hits in his last 10 games, all home runs.Mr. Raleigh, who is on pace for 64 home runs this season, is expected to compete in the Home Run Derby Monday night. “I’m thankful where I’m at, getting to do what I get to do,” he said. “I’m just trying to take advantage of it and be the best I can possibly be.”Science, sheer power, and perhaps a livelier baseball have resurrected the long ball, this time without the stain of performance-enhancing drugs.

Baseball’s Historic Surge in Home Runs Is Powered by a New Kind of Juice

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