Kenley Jansen of the Boston Red Sox had his 424th career save against the Los Angeles Angels. During this game he faced challenges due to the poor quality of the baseballs. Jansen criticized the condition of the baseballs, claiming they were difficult to work with and affected his pitching. He noted that he had to go through several balls before finding one he was comfortable throwing. Jansen pointed out that this is not a new issue and that the quality of the balls was a concern among other pitchers as well.
Another pitcher who faced similar problems was Pete Fairbanks of the Tampa Bay Rays. Fairbanks expressed his frustration with the quality of the balls after an outing at Coors Field where he struggled with control. He noted that the condition of the balls made it a challenge to execute his moves effectively. This indicates that the baseball quality problem is not limited to one player or team, but may be a more widespread problem in professional baseball.
The issue of baseball quality has been a topic of controversy in Major League Baseball and the wider professional baseball community. Although there have been discussions in the past about the aerodynamic properties of the balls (such as “bouncing”), the current focus seems to be on the catchability due to the condition of the balls. Given the league's stance on grip-enhancing substances and the obvious challenges pitchers face regarding the quality of baseballs, it will be interesting to see how this issue plays out over the course of the season and its impact on player performance.