I think there is something that all battery manufacturer changed that cause the batteries more likely to leak. I wonder what?
I look here and on the web there is nothing about newer batteries tend to leak more than batteries made many years ago but that is what I observed.
I have given a possible/probable explanation for this in most threads on this subject I have posted in.
Basically, a battery is a device to convert chemical energy into electrical energy. Batteries have to perform a miracle, in that the chemical reactions are only supposed to start working when you connect a load to their terminals. If there is no load connected, they are somehow supposed to "turn off" the chemical reaction and become dormant. But this is really difficult. Chemistry wants to happen, and it wants to happen even if you have not connected wires to the battery.
So here's the problem. There is a marketing drive to have "high power", "high performance" batteries, and to do this requires putting much more vigorous and reactive chemicals inside the battery. These much more active chemicals try even harder to react when the battery is on the shelf, making high power batteries more prone to leaking than lower power batteries.
The leaking occurs because the chemical reactions produce gas, which eventually cannot be absorbed and pressurizes the cell, squeezing the insides out through the seals. Alkaline batteries are technically "sealed", but given enough pressure every seal will fail.
The takeaway from this, is that to reduce the risk of leaking you should buy "clock batteries", which are low power batteries designed for long use and long shelf life. These batteries are often much less expensive than the high power varieties, and could often be found in dollar stores. (But less so now than in the past.)