Joe Davis ahead of a July 6, 2022 game. Joe Davis ahead of a July 6, 2022 game. (Kirby Lee/USA Today Sports.)

Changes to league equipment have sparked considerable discussion over the years. That’s perhaps been especially true in MLB, which has seen dramatic discussions over everything from the “The Deadball Era” to recent debates on whether balls are “juiced” or “deadened.”

Los Angeles Dodgers’ announcers Joe Davis and Eric Karros weighed in on that a bit Saturday, with Davis saying with a laugh, “I think these things are juiced” after the Washington Nationals’ fifth homer of the night:

Given the way Davis said that, that seems to be more of a comment on the remarkable number of home runs in the game than an actual accusation of altered balls. And it’s notable that the larger, data-backed conversation around MLB balls at the moment has mostly been about them being deader with more drag, with equally hard-hit balls landing four feet shorter than in the past as per a study from Eno Sarris and Evan Drellich of The Athletic earlier this month. Some players have commented on this as well, especially regarding the higher seams on the balls.

The league acknowledged that data, but said that they had made no intentional modifications to the balls ahead of this season, and that these balls were still within their stated specifications. They also said, “Our experts continue to study any potential causes beyond normal variability in a product made by hand with natural materials.” Around that, Pittsburgh Pirates’ outfielder Andrew McCutchen weighed in with what he’s been told by the league, including that further changes won’t be made this year:

In the cut-off part of that post, McCutchen wrote, “I was told there was ‘nothing’ that can be done about it this season BUT, they are ‘working hard on getting to the bottom of why the seams are higher.'” Thus, it seems unlikely that the balls have actually been “juiced” since then. (However, the history of MLB and ball modification has often involved a lack of openness from the league, so nothing can be ruled out.)

Around all that, it’s interesting to hear an announcer like Davis mention “juiced,” even with a laugh. Of course, he’s far from the first announcer to have some comments on the ball, with SNY’s Gary Cohen wondering earlier this year if the ball was “a little more jumpy,” and with many others weighing in at times. But it’s notable to see discussion of the ball pop up on teams’ official broadcasts (and with this one coming not just on Spectrum SportsNet LA, but also on MLB Network). It seems unlikely anyone will get too mad at Davis over this particular line, but we’ll see if these kinds of ball discussions show up more going forward.

About Andrew Bucholtz

Andrew Bucholtz has been covering sports media for Awful Announcing since 2012. He is also a staff writer for The Comeback. His previous work includes time at Yahoo! Sports Canada and Black Press.