I don’t have names, but I am certain that there were quite a few fine black pitchers that no one in the Majors had to face quite some time ago.
Thanks for the answer, lurkernomore.
Something out of left field…
Perhaps it’s because they are using a denser, better quality grade of Ash wood for the bats.
Stop groaning… I know it’s a miniscule factor.
There aren’t any stats on the number of broken bats this season but I don’t recall seeing all that many as compared to recent years.
But seriously, I don’t buy the ball theory.
I think the reasons are:
Recent expansion has watered the pitching talent league-wide.
The new smaller parks.
Stronger players who hit the weight rooms instead of a bar rooms after the games.
And to a lesser degree, the shrinking strike zone.
Go Mets!