FiveThirtyEight: Smaller baseballs, flatter seams fueling home run surge

Joey Votto is on pace for a career-best number of dingers this season. Scott Schebler has already clubbed 20 dingers. And Scooter Gennett - yes, Scooter Gennett - now has a 4 homer game to his credit. There's no denying that the rate at which MLB players honk dingers has escalated rapidly over the last few seasons, and FiveThirtyEight's Rob Arthur recently ran a study on the evolution of the ball itself to help determine if that has played a part. His findings? They suggest the ball has certainly changed, becoming more aerodynamic and creating less drag in the air, which helps explain why balls are flying farther (and perhaps why average pitch velocity has risen, too). Interesting stuff!