THE TACKY BALL: A Southern League experiment with new baseballs ends with mixed results
As Friday, the baseballs used in Southern League games are back to what was used in previous seasons. MLB experimented with a “tacky” ball for the first half of the season but went back to the conventional ball with the new series, which opened Friday with Montgomery losing to Tennessee, 4-0. (Staff Photo)
By TIM GAYLE
The best part about starting the second half of the Southern League season, at least some players will attest, is the return to a conventional baseball.
Major League Baseball sent out a memo in March, announcing the Southern League would use a prototype “enhanced grip” baseball for the first half of the season as part of experimental rules changes across the minor leagues.
It marked the second year Major League Baseball had experimented with pre-tacked baseballs, briefly using them in Triple-A in 2021 and in Double-A in 2022.
As of Friday, when the league went back to the conventional ball, the experiment is over… at least for now.
“It’s such a different feeling, going back and forth, back and forth,” Biscuits pitcher John Doxakis said. “I’m looking forward to just getting to a consistent ball, whether they want to make it the pre-stick ones for the whole season or whatever.
“Last year, they came out with a sticky ball, too, that was completely different. It kind of had a black residue on it and got more sticky. If you go from pitching without stick to with stick, it’s a different command, a different feel off the fingers. So I’m excited to get back to a regular baseball. For me, I feel more confident with it.”
TACKY BALL… RESULTS
The tacky ball has been the talk of the Southern League since the start of the 2023 season. According to MLB Research compiled through the first month of the season, the league led all Double-A leagues in walk percentage and strikeout percentage. Wild pitches were also up dramatically.
“Guys have great stuff, but with the different baseballs out here, everyone across the league is talking about it,” Biscuits catcher Logan Driscoll said. “Last year, guys might be carrying the ball 21 inches and that’s well above average and now we’re seeing guys carry the ball 24 or 25. That old average of 21 is a breath of fresh air now.”
The “carry” on a ball, Montgomery manager Morgan Ensberg explained, is especially prevalent in pitchers with four-seam fastballs and how much more induced vertical break, or carry, pitchers are getting.
“The way the brain sees the ball come in, it does not stay where it was projected to go,” Ensberg said, “because it maintains more carry or it has more break, so it takes more time to calibrate because they have never seen pitch characteristics like that.
“It’s providing a lot of carry for the pitchers and some of these guys are getting up to 26 inches of carry. Now we’re getting into some anti-gravity stuff. I know the pitchers like them because, again, if you can get 26 inches of vert, that’s a good thing for them. You’re seeing a lot more foul balls because the batters are also trying to calibrate where that ball is actually winding up.
“That type of carry is very difficult to square up.”
As a result, only three players finished with a batting average above .300 in the first half of the Southern League season: Montgomery third baseman Austin Shenton (.323), Tennessee’s Hayden McGeary (.302) and Driscoll (.301).
“Going into the season, we didn’t know there was going to be that big a difference,” Shenton said. “Then, in the first game, some guys are having vertical break at 25 inches. That’s ridiculous. It’s a lot different on swinging and missing. I’m like, where did I miss that ball? I felt like I hit it.”
WHAT IS A “TACKY” BALL?
The enhanced grip baseballs are pre-tacked with a substance made by the materials science company Dow, formerly known as Dow Chemical. The ingredients and chemical makeup of the substance are proprietary. With the second half of the season underway, the league has returned to using standard major league balls rubbed with mud from the Delaware River.
MLB will compare the results from the two halves after the season.
“I’d say there is a huge difference,” Biscuits outfielder Tristan Peters said. “Just looking at the ball, it looks more tacky, but we’ve been noticing pitchers’ numbers. They’re throwing with a lot more spin, their fastballs are carrying more. It just makes your job at the plate a lot more difficult. Nowadays, pitchers are going more north to south with their changeups, the curveballs, the rising fastballs. I think we’ve seen a rise in the league in strikeouts and I think that’s a huge part to it.”
“Not making an excuse about it, but it’s added a little difficulty as far as hitting,” Shenton added. “We’re seeing pitches that are like Justin Verlander’s fastball every single day. It just adds difficulty. And you can see it league wide.”
Biscuits lefthander John Doxakis didn’t notice much of a difference or any advantages either way with the “tacky” ball used in the first half of the season. (File Photo)
THUMBS UP OR DOWN?
Doxakis doesn’t throw a four-seam fastball so he hasn’t noticed any advantage in the first half of the season. But, he added with a smile, it’s hard to convince the hitters in the clubhouse.
“Yeah, we have that argument all the time,” he said. “For some people, they do (favor pitchers), depending on the arsenal. For me, being kind of a sinkerball type of guy, extra tack doesn’t really help me. Grips never been something I’ve struggled with, it’s been something else. But as far as those guys that pitch up in the zone and carry the ball, I think getting a little extra backspin definitely plays into some advantage. Then again, throwing a ball where you want to throw it is hard; hitting a ball where you want to hit it is hard.”
The former Texas A&M standout added he is quick to throw out one of the pre-tacked balls and ask for another from the umpire.
“As the season goes on and you’re starting to sweat more in these games, it feels like they’re making them slicker,” he said. “I throw out as many baseballs as I can because they lose their tack pretty quickly. But they’re kind of inconsistent. You’ll get one that feels good and then one that feels like a cue ball.”
The use of the pre-tacked ball certainly didn’t have the result Major League Baseball was hoping for, but it’s also a cause for concern at the Double-A level, where player development is paramount. Both pitchers and hitters were having to adjust to a minor league ball at Single-A, a pre-tacked ball at Double-A and a major league ball at Triple-A, each of which has its own set of unique characteristics.
Ensberg said his players are not penalized for their struggles with the experimental ball.
“One, we never talk about average and how you’re doing,” he said. “We discuss - are you ready to hit? Swing at a good pitch. You’re a constant cheerleader, reminding them that we’re here to get better. This is just calibration. They’re going to figure out where the ball is going to eventually go, but they just need time to calibrate.”
“I think you’ve just got to make an adjustment to (the new balls),” Peters said. “When the old balls come back, we’ll adjust back to those. You can’t really dwell on it too much.”
WILL PLAYERS SEE A CHANGE IN AVERAGES?
There is a good chance batting averages might increase in the second half of the season but there is no actual proof for varying reasons. Consider that the second half normally features a lot of changes on the rosters with the MLB trade deadline looming on Aug. 1 and players moving up and down from Class A to Double A or Double A to Triple A for different reasons. There is also the matter of fatigue from a long season, injuries… several reasons.
“I really don’t know if we will see an immediate change,” Biscuits hitting coach Wuarnner Rincones said. “We might see batting averages increase over time but it will be at least three or four weeks before we really get an idea of the adjustments.”
Graham Dunn contributed to this story.