PRNewswire
CLEVELAND, Jan. 3 — Mark McGwire’s 70th home run ball from his record-breaking 1998 season contains a synthetic rubber ring or spring — a material not outlined in official Major League Baseball specifications.
The ring and enlarged rubberized core of the baseball are clearly visualized in a computed tomography (CT) scan of the baseball conducted by Universal Medical Systems Inc. of Ohio (UMS), a worldwide innovator of diagnostic imaging technology for various industries.
UMS, with assistance from Avrami S. Grader and Philip M. Halleck from The Center for Quantitative Imaging at Penn State University, utilized a CT scanner to study additional League baseballs from 1998 and found the baseballs have significantly enlarged cores in a variety of shapes and sizes.
According to the MLB’s specifications, “the pill of the baseball shall consist of a compressed cork sphere surrounded by one layer of black rubber and one layer of red rubber.” The League does not specify a synthetic rubber ring or any additional material.
“Examining the CT images of Mark McGwire’s 70th home run ball one can clearly see the synthetic ring around the core — or ‘pill’ — of the baseball,” states David Zavagno, president of Universal Medical Systems. “While Mark McGuire may or may not have used illegal steroids, the evidence shows his ball — under the governing body of the League — was juiced.”
In 2000, in response to concerns about an altered ball contributing to increased home runs, MLB commissioned and paid for a study from the UMass-Lowell Baseball Research Center. The report found no change in the ball. However, photos within the report show the synthetic rubber ring and identify numerous other problems.
The league publicly announced the baseball was not a cause of increased home runs. However, the historical words “cushioned cork center” were later removed from baseballs.
Also, computerized strike checkers were installed in MLB’s parks to expand the strike zone, and the League worked towards establishing drug testing standards. In fact, Commissioner Bud Selig named former Senator George Mitchell to lead an investigation into the use of illegal steroids by baseball players. Another interesting action, the Colorado Rockies utilized a humidor for their balls.
“The League is as guilty as the individual players,” Zavagno said. “Its desire to protect the image of the game, while recording huge revenues and setting new performance records, allowed scandalous problems to escalate.
“Only after Congress stepped in on the steroid problem did the League begrudgingly act,” Zavagno said. “Now it may take similar scrutiny for the League to admit the modern-day baseball does not conform to its own specifications. Because of the scandals — baseball material alterations, lax rule enforcement and rampant use of steroids — the Hall of Fame voting process could be tainted for decades. Hall of Fame voters need to understand many historical statistical comparisons are no longer relevant.”
