Selig was in charge of every detail that could create home runs in 1996

"The Ball flew in April of 1996...."

• From Joel Sherman's 2006 book, 'Birth of a Dynasty,' pp 67 and 68 (the book is about the birth of the Yankee dynasty but includes the big picture):

(Sherman): ""The ball flew in April of 1996. Conspiracy theorists suspected baseballs were wound tighter than ever to promote run scoring in general and home runs in particular.

• In the aftermath of the labor war that led to the cancellation of the 1994 World Series and a shortened 1995 season, the conjecture went that the
• Office of the Commissioner was looking to invigorate apathetic fans. And nothing quite captivates
• like the long ball.

In 1996, the 40-year old record for homers per game in April was smashed and the 10.58 runs averaged per game were the fourth highest in the month in history. Three players--Brady Anderson, Barry Bonds, and Gary Sheffield--hit 11 homers in April after just 3 players had ever done so before.

• If it was not simply a livelier ball, then there was a collaboration of factors that helped explain the phenomenon, including
• smaller ballparks
• and tiny strike zones.

• The players were bigger, and more substantive discussions were ongoing about the use of illegal performance enhancers such as steroids.

• It all created a run-scoring orgy that made it open season on pitchers, which influenced how the games were being played.
• Starting pitchers were more averse to throwing strikes and having muscular hitters have their way. So, they nibbled around the plate,
• swelled their pitch counts, and were relieved earlier than usual.
• That exposed the soft underbelly of every team, so pitchers not good enough either for the rotation or to close were being called upon sooner and more frequently with pinball-like results.

Middle relievers on every club were feeling the remorseless onslaught of offense. Every team, that is, except Joe Torre's Yankees."...

• (Sherman went on to describe the Yankee relief pitcher Mariano Rivera who was asked to get as many as 9 outs to cover for the starting rotation).

From Joel Sherman's book, "Birth of a Dynasty, Behind the Pinstripes with the 1996 Yankees," published in 2006 by Rodale. Quotes here from pages 67 and 68. Tic Tac photo via nyyfans.com

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