Thread by @BWDBWDBWD

I just had a very illuminating and fun (for me) back and forth with Rob Manfred about MLB's use of multiple baseballs in 2021.
lil' thread incoming.

first, Manfred repeated what a spokesperson told me for @thisisinsider: Yes, the league used two balls, one (for brevity's sake) "dead" ball and another "juiced." But, Manfred claimed it was only because COVID supply chain issues forced MLB to reach into older, juiced inventory.

sidebar: lol at "we made public, eventually"
Yes, MLB did -- when we dropped our @thisisinsider article definitively proving that MLB used two baseballs. businessinsider.com/mlb-used-two-d…

Anyway, one problem: Dr. Meredith Wills' (aka @Bbl_Astrophyscs) research, which involved obtaining balls throughout the 2021 season, showed MLB continued to *manufacture* the older style juiced ball. Why would they do that? Well, once again Manfred rejected the premise:

MANFRED said that Dr. Wills' research, "is just plain-- are not right...once we switched to the new process, they were all produced under the new process."

So if that's the case, Manfred's denounced Wills' method of determining when balls were manufactured, which is interesting because MLB never contested the method in our article, or @stephapstein's Sports Illustrated story in 2021. si.com/mlb/2021/02/09…

After explaining how the Rawlings production date of every MLB ball is printed on the inside, Manfred continued denying the research and replied: "Where [balls] fall exactly on the calendar... I just can't tell ya."

And then, when I asked where I could go and ask more detailed information on why the league rejects Dr. Wills' research, Manfred said: "Honestly, I can't help you on that one either."

So in conclusion: Rob Manfred insisted:
- there's only one ball being used in 2022
- MLB improved the ball's consistency
- MLB/Rawlings never switched between producing different styles of baseball
And yeah, he couldn't tell me who I should ask to prove any of his claims.