Home runs, we love them. Who wouldn’t? The perfect swing, the crack of the bat, the way the out fielder runs toward the fence looking over his shoulder as the ball sails into the crowd. It’s awesome. There’s no doubt that it’s one of the most exciting parts of baseball.
On January 1st 2012 a new rule will be put in place witch forces all high school and collegiate baseball players to use and new type of bat that will hit with 5% less power than the current bats. While most pitchers and safety concerned parents support this change, it’s meeting some serious criticism from hitters and fans alike. Hitters want to hit home runs and fans want to see them. While I agree that it will be a bummer to see fewer home runs in high school and collegiate baseball I do feel there will be many other exciting situations made possible by this change.
If what used to be a short home run now becomes a long fly ball and what used to be a squeaky grounder up the middle now becomes playable, we have faster games. While not everyone wants faster games most of us can agree that some baseball games would be better enjoyed if they were an hour shorter.
Another area of the game that stands to gain from the bat regulation is fielding. Diving plays on sharply hit balls down the foul line will become more achievable. Fly balls in the gaps reach there destination a bit slower making for spectacular sliding or diving play opportunities. A lined one hopper between third and short stop is more possibly back handed and whipped to the second basemen for a spinning 5-4-3 double play. This is exciting stuff!
I think we can all agree that it’s hard to find more intense moments in sports then the last few outs of a possible no hitter. With every pitch and swing of the bat you feel your heart drop. Even if you are rooting for the hitting team you can’t help but want the pitcher to get those last few outs and enjoy an accomplishment that most will never reach. With all these advanced possibilities fielders will inherit from this bat change moments like these become more likely.
As a culture we tend to go for the quick fix when thinking of excitement in sports. We crave for the Home run in baseball, the KO in boxing and the touchdown in football. These are all awesome things that deserve celebration but let us not forget the less glamorized moments of intensity that live within our sports. Remember, a 12 round back and forth exchange, a defensive line that rushes a quarterback relentlessly or a 9 inning no hitter can have just as much excitement as a home run a touch down or a knock out and tends to be the type thing we respect more and remember longer.
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Absolutely!!