Unlike Mets, bad baseballs have not troubled Yankees so far

The problem with the baseballs hasn’t quite made the journey over the RFK Bridge and into the Bronx, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a valid concern.

A day after a few Mets – namely, Chris Bassitt and James McCann – lambasted this year’s baseballs for their inconsistency, Yankees player representative Jameson Taillon said he personally hasn’t had any issues with the various modifications MLB has put in place. He knows, though, that he – and the Yankees – could be the exception.

“I haven’t had too big of a problem gripping the ball,” Taillon said before the Yankees were set to take on the Orioles Wednesday night. “I know guys around the league have been talking, so that didn’t really surprise me [to hear what the Mets said]. I know there’s been a lot of hit by pitches and stuff and obviously, offense has been a little different so far at this point this year. Guys that are getting hit by pitches, it’s not just fastball. It seems to be all pitches, so I guess that’s their experience. I haven’t had any, but I’ve definitely heard people talking around the league.”

It's easy to see why, especially coming from the Mets, whose players have been hit a whopping 19 times in just 20 games, and have witnessed Pete Alonso getting beaned twice. Wednesday afternoon, against the Cardinals, J.D. Davis was hit in the foot and simmering tensions eventually led to a bench-clearing brawl later in the game.

And possible changes in the actual baseball are also commingling with other factors. 

MLB began checking pitchers for sticky substances last year, pretty much eradicating the use of Spider Tack, which helps pitchers grip the ball (and often gives them an advantage). This year, balls are being universally put in humidors – a practice that, once upon a time, was used by just a handful of teams, like the Rockies and Diamondbacks. It’s also cold weather, which makes grip and control more challenging. Add to that a shortened spring training and expanded rosters (with inexperienced pitchers) and other difficulties emerge, even if the league-wide hit-by-pitch rate is currently consistent with past years.

“I think everyone is trying to figure out the right sweet spot and we obviously cracked down [with Spider Tack] last year.  But I got the vibe that [MLB] wanted to work with players and find a happy medium where we weren’t sacrificing grip and hitters weren’t at risk for getting hit by dangerous errant fastballs,” Taillon said. “I think it’s an open conversation . . . I think a lot of guys, from what I’ve heard around the league, are still curious what a universal tacky-type ball would be like, if we could get some prototypes on that but with the CBA and stuff, there were a lot of other pressing issues so I think that’s why, maybe now, you’re starting to see that conversation coming to light.”

Taillon added that the switch to rock rosin from last year’s powdered rosin has helped, especially in cold weather, where powdered rosin was hard to activate. It still takes some effort to activate rock rosin in the cold – you need more friction, he said – but once the weather warms up, pitchers will be able to mix it with sweat to get a better grip.

But, unfortunately, grip isn't the only issue at play, Aaron Boone said. While he hasn’t seen his pitchers struggling, he has noted that offense is down. That’s true around the league, where, according to Fangraphs, the home run to baseball event percentage is at a pitiful 3.6%. It was 4.72% last April.

“That always can be a number of factors – weather, short spring training, small sample, ball humidor,” Boone noted. “We’re all drawing our conclusions and saying why. I thought last night was a night where the ball flew really well . . . So we’ll see. I think everyone is kind of wondering a little bit, but I think it’s got to play out.”

By Laura Albanese

laura.albanese@newsday.com@AlbaneseLaura

Laura Albanese is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. She's been covering MLB since 2014 after starting at Newsday as an intern seven years earlier.