quote:Originally posted by rz1:Are you pro-wood or anti-wood? When you say you can make a wood bat outperform metal and then say there is not a there is no safety issue I'm getting confused what side of the fence you are on
I’m definitely pro wood, always have been and always will be!
quote:Originally posted by rz1:That is a hypothesis, I don't know. I am throwing comments out for discussion. If you want an opinion I THINK you have to have across the board agreement to change and you will not get that at all youth baseball level because they are of the thinking that there is not a reason to change, and change may cause a loss in participation.
No doubt you’re correct in that the overwhelming assumption is that a change will cause a loss in participation. But, there is no way there will ever be an across the board agreement to anything at the youth level! There are too many empires that would feel threatened!
But knowing, or at least feeling, those things to be true, shouldn’t stop dissenting opinions, and most certainly shouldn’t stop people from trying to introduce change. the last thing anyone should want to see happen is that he game stagnates, and that’s what lack of change means.
quote:Originally posted by rz1:It doesn't take as much work to become even the slightest bit profiecent with metal. Kids use them because it is easier out of the box. Lets make it harder with less success and really frustrate them from the get go. Heck, maybe youth football and basketball should use regular size balls because sooner or later they'll get the hang of it.
Why do you believe metal is easier out of the box than wood is? I’m not trying to put words into your mouth, but generally when I hear people say that, its because the metal bats can be made so light relative to the length. I.e. 30/17. I’m saying that can be done with wood too.
As far as whether or not equipment should be made in different sizes, I have no trouble with that at all. But, I find it pretty stupid to change the field size and the bat size, but the thing that makes the most difference, the ball, has exactly the same requirements ML has!
Granted, ML balls are constructed to higher standards, but as far as the size and weight and general characteristics goes, they are exactly the same. Why not mess with the balls?
quote:Originally posted by rz1:You better quite that day job because you will have millions of bats to conform for the players of "little field" baseball players. Remember I am pro-wood on the big field
You think Louisville Slugger, Easton, or any other bat manufacturer couldn’t manufacture wood bats so that they’d come out of the box however people wanted them?
But to tell the truth, I’d much prefer the wood bats came the same way metal bats do, pretty much one size fits all. FI, there’s absolutely no difference in any Easton 30/21of the same model.
Then it would give the kids the opportunity to adjust and tweak their own bats, teaching them something much more important. We have a whole generation of parents, and therefore their kids, who are almost totally ignorant about how to do things to their bats to make them look and feel much closer to their desires than what comes out of a box!
quote:Originally posted by rz1:Why do they insure Ford pintos when they are not as safe as a caddy? [QUOTE]
Do you honestly believe there no difference in the rates between different cars and different drivers? ;-)
Talk to your insurance guy. I can guarantee that he’ll tell you there are cars that are safe than others and they get better rates.
Heck, Lloyds of London will insure anything, but not everyone can afford it. Trust me. If the insurance carriers really believed there was a significantly higher danger, you’d see the rates climb to the moon, and eventually it would become unaffordable.
The thing is, you might feel a 1 in 20,000,000 chance is enough to make something dangerous, but that doesn’t mean everyone feels the same way. there are those who would argue that if you really feel they’re unsafe and still let you child pitch, you should be put in jail. I really don’t think they’re more dangerous at all.
[QUOTE]Originally posted by rz1:I'm not debating a safety issue. PG's post was right on as far as indicating that it may not be a velocity issue but the fact that it may be a "probability" issue because the metal bat has a larger sweet spot thus allowing more solid contact.
If it isn’t a safety issue, who cares whether or not there’s more solid contact? It isn’t as though things change for only one player, or even a some number less than all. The difference affects everyone.
If you don’t like what those differences provide, then you either 1) forsake the game entirely, 2) do what you can to force changes, or 3) learn to live with it.
I’d say you were in trouble. Forsaking the game shouldn’t even be an option, and you don’t think its possible to affect changes across the board. That seems to leave only living with it.
quote:Originally posted by rz1
PG this is going no where with Scorekeeper. You made great points
Nowhere depends on you perspective, and so does whether or not the points were valid.
Its all just information for the ol' database.