I'd be happy to explain.
We've all been bombarded with information on this board and other places about the decrease in offense in college baseball this year due to the new bats. I've done my due diligence this summer on this subject because I'm going to have to allocate more budget money this fall on bats than I ever have.
I have a contact with one of the bat companies. I've bought bats from him before. He brings out the new models to our practices and lets my players demo them during BP. He has told me to hold off purchasing BBCOR bats until the 2012's come out. He said they will have more pop. My inner skeptic immediately said, "define more pop." He insisted they will perform better. I assume it will be because of better weight distribution based on the research I've done this summer. I know a few coaches in California and they have said the same things. California high schools used the BBCOR bats this past season and they had some "issues" out there.
I can gurarantee you that there will be new standards coming out in the next couple of years and here's why. Go to youtube and search, "shaving bats."
This is not a new concept, softball players have done this for years. They pop the cap on the end of the bat and shave the inner wall of the bat thus increasing the trampoline effect of the bat. This was a widespread practice in California this past year. The trick is to pop the cap without making it look tampered. There are videos on youtube showing you how to do this, though some of the jokers on there are pretty entertaining.
There are also companies out there that will provide this service for you if you purchase a bat from them. These are the same lovely folks that would roll the old composite bats for you as well.
One of the next things to come down the road will the BBCOR tamper proof bat. Look for this to come out by 2014 if not sooner.
One of the unfortunate parts of the great game of baseball is that throughout the history of the game, there have always been examples of players "gaining and advantage." From corking bats and loading up a baseball...to rolling and shaving bats...to steroids and other performance enhancing drugs...to stealing signs...baseball players have ALWAYS tried to gain an edge.
Maybe we are just a bunch of seedy individuals in this game?
Maybe we are so obsessed by the game we do things that we might not otherwise do in a normal rational state?
Maybe this game is so difficult and so unforgiving that we feel we have to do it to keep up with the Jones'?
I do feel your pain.