STUDY CONCLUDES MLB BASEBALLS ARE `JUICED'

STUDY CONCLUDES MLB BASEBALLS ARE `JUICED'

SOLON, Ohio (Wireless Flash) -- A new study may explain why there's been a surplus of home runs in Major League Baseball: The balls are juiced. Researchers at the Ohio-based Universal Systems X-rayed and scanned hundreds of Rawlings baseballs from the 1930s up until today and claim today's balls have been altered to increase flight. The scanned images reveal the cores of baseballs have changed over the years from cork to a rubber-like material that makes the balls fly farther when hit. The researchers also say the early balls have smaller cores that wouldn't have as much "pop" when hit. Despite the findings, the Rawlings Sporting Goods company claims it hasn't made any changes in the baseball's design since 1930.