At least one high-profile Major League Baseball player believes the league is manipulating baseballs to ensure that they travel less.
Pittsburgh Pirates DH Andrew McCutchen suggested Saturday that the league had admitted to him that the baseballs being used in 2025 are different and do not travel as far as previous ones. McCutchen responded to a video of a ball hit Friday night by Mets star Juan Soto that looked like it was going to be a home run off the bat, but only reached the warning track.
“I was told by a rep for MLB that the balls are indeed different this year,” McCutchen wrote on X. “They stated ‘higher seams’ which produces more drag on baseball, causing baseballs to not travel as far as they should. When asked why, I was told ‘every baseball is hand sewn so no ball is the same.’ When I asked if there is something that can be done about correcting the current performance of this years baseball, 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.'”
I was told by a rep for MLB that the balls are indeed different this year. They stated “higher seams” which produces more drag on baseball, causing baseballs to not travel as far as they should. When asked why, I was told “every baseball is hand sewn so no ball is the same.” When… https://t.co/StaUR45PFv
— Andrew McCutchen (@TheCUTCH22) June 14, 2025
Claims that MLB is doctoring baseballs are nothing new. In the past, one Mets player argued that MLB manipulates the balls depending on the upcoming free agent class. It is worth noting that the 2025-26 MLB free agent class is not necessarily strongly weighted toward position players or pitchers, though outfielder Kyle Tucker is the marquee name.
For whatever it is worth, the ball Soto hit Friday night came off the bat at 110.8 MPH, according to Baseball Savant, and carried with it an expected batting average of .990.
MLB has always maintained that they do not make any changes to baseballs, but there is some natural variability in how they perform because of how they are manufactured. That explanation will not satisfy some players who clearly think something is going on, and McCutchen is among them.
