MLB: Digging into the record number of dingers

Discover why 2017 was the season of swat.

Photo by Russell Lansford/Getty Images

By @RyanGrosman
Laced
October 1, 2017

On September 19, the 5,694th homerun of the season landed safely in the Rogers Centre stands off the bat of Alex Gordon.

Why was this significant? Because it broke MLB's homerun record that was set back in 2000, which just happened to be smack dab in the middle of the steroid era.

And as of September 28, 116 players accumulated 20 or more homers. That’s a shit load of players with that many big flies.

So what gives? Why was this season the season of swat?

We know it wasn’t steroids or HGH, thanks to MLB’s extensive PED testing. (Though it’s conceivable that some players delved deep into the depths of Central America to find some stellar masking agents.)

There’s also the well-documented theory that this year’s balls were juiced up the wazoo.

Apparently some minor leaguers who pitched in the MLB this season noticed a difference in the baseballs being used. So it’s quite possible MLB tinkered with the balls.

But really, who cares if they did?

Homeruns are a good thing. They’re exciting. Often awe-inspiring. I mean, there’s a reason we crown a “Homerun King” each year. I’ve never heard of a “Singles King.”

I just wanted to provide my own theories as to why 2017 saw more balls fly over the fence than any other season in the existence of baseball. So let’s begin.

The infinitely shrinking strike zone

If you’ve watched any MLB games these past few seasons, especially this year, you’ve probably noticed that the strike zone has been reduced to the size of a pea.

For whatever reason, umps are calling less and less strikes on the edges and corners, forcing pitchers to come over the plate more often.

Hitters aren’t stupid. They see what’s going on. All they have to do is wait for that juicy pitch down the middle and then whack it out of the park.

Just recently I saw this exact scenario play out. The Blue Jays’ Marcus Stroman was facing Yankees masher Aaron Judge. Stroman’s first 2 pitches sniped the edges of the plate. Both were called balls. So on the very next pitch, he came over the plate. 484 feet later, Judge is taking a trip around the bases for his 52nd bomb of the year.

Pitchers dropping like flies

This year it seemed like every day another pitcher went down with an injury.

And when teams have to dig deep into their farm systems for replacements, they’re forced to send pitchers to the rubber who aren’t exactly major league ready.

Some haven’t even been above double-A yet. But they now find themselves in the show, facing herculean giants like Giancarlo Stanton.

Seasoned hitters like Stanton lick their chops when they see these fresh faces on the mound. It’s bombs away again and again.

The Blue Jays experienced this firsthand. Due to a series of injuries, the team was forced to send the likes of Nick Tepesch and Casey Lawrence to the major league mound with disastrous results.

But if you think the Jays had it bad, just look at the Seattle Mariners. They tied a major league record by using a grand total of 40 pitchers. That’s right – 40 different pitchers in one season, including 17 different starters.

Think of all the newbies who had to toe the rubber for the Mariners this season as emergency fill-ins. And this was just one team. No wonder the homerun total was so high.

Tanking teams

It seems more and more teams are following the Royals, Astros and Cubs model – be complete and utter dog shit for several years in order to accumulate young talent.

In other words, tank like there’s no tomorrow.

This year, the White Sox, Athletics, Phillies, Braves, Reds and Padres basically fielded minor league teams in order sink their seasons. (If you can name more than 2 Padres, you deserve some sort of prize.)

So why is this significant? Well, just like with pitcher injuries, a large number of minor league pitchers were forced onto the big stage before they were ready.

Even average major league hitters will take advantage of this inexperience. And they did.

Selling out for the swat

As long as you can go deep with some regularity, swinging for the fences and striking out has become acceptable. And it has never been more evident than this year.

Yes, the homerun record was broken. But little do people know, so too was the strikeout record. In fact, it was broken for the 10th consecutive season.

Whiffing 150-200 times a year once garnered media attention and brought some shame to the player. Now it’s just a regular part of baseball – a byproduct of ripping the cover off of the ball.

Hitters who sacrifice power for base hits, like Tony Gwynn and Ichiro, have become a rare breed.

A new wave of mashers

We’re now also seeing a huge influx of young power hitters who are absolutely destroying the ball on a daily basis.

More than 20 players in their first 3 seasons in the bigs hit 25+ dingers this year.

This includes newly minted mashers like the Yankees’ Judge and Gary Sanchez; the Cubs’ Kris Bryant and Kyle Schwarber; the Dodgers’ Cody Bellinger; and the Twins’ Miguel Sano.

Even the Indians’ Francisco Lindor, who’s shown little power in his first couple seasons, launched 30+ bombs this year.

Round-tripper wrap up

For all the reasons listed above, along with the possibility of a juiced ball, the number of homers will continue to trend upwards.

So will the record be eclipsed again in 2018? All signs point to yes.

Umps will continue to shrink ray the strike zone. Injuries and tanking teams will continue to force inexperienced pitchers into action. And hitters will keep swinging for the fences with little regard for strikeouts.

Finally, the number of young bombers will continue to increase with even more mashers on the verge of breaking out, including the Red Sox’s Rafael Devers, the Phillies’ Rhys Hoskins and the Athletics’ Matt Olson.

I’m hoping that the number of big flies continues to rise, smashing more records and windows along the way. We all should.

Follow @RyanGrosman