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On the field, the AL dominated interleague play again, while scoring dropped to its lowest level in 16 years.
Just a few months after the Mitchell Report on doping in baseball implicated dozens of former All-Stars, teams averaged 4.54 runs per game through July 7. That’s the lowest mark on that date since it was 4.16 in 1992, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
In May, players and owners approved tougher drug-testing rules.
“We’re still trying to get through this cloud of performance-enhancing drugs,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. “Hopefully, we’ll get that cleaned up and get back to playing baseball. But I think baseball is alive and well and moving forward.”
Scioscia’s team accomplished a rare feat on June 28. Starting pitcher Jered Weaver (six innings) and reliever Jose Arredondo (two innings) combined to hold the Los Angeles Dodgers hitless in a 1-0 defeat.
It didn’t count as a no-hitter — just a frustrating loss.
All season long, players and managers around the big leagues have been exasperated by a rash of missed home run calls. So baseball wants to adopt instant replay by August for home run disputes in hopes of fine-tuning the system in time for the playoffs.
The umpires’ union and MLB must reach an agreement before replay can be tried. The sides have started discussions.
“We talked about it for like a month and then bam — implement it,” Hunter said. “That’s unbelievable how quick they came around. I was very shocked that that was going to happen. I’m thinking it was going to happen 5-10 years from now. So that’s how much the game has changed.”
Another pressing issue is the danger of maple bats. Some say they splinter with greater force than ash models, and a management-union safety committee is investigating.
Maple bats can’t be banned without the union’s agreement.
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