My HS BBCOR bat prediction

BBCOR is a step in the right direction for high school and college baseball. It will expose the weaker hitters or hitters who may have used the "juiced" bats as a crutch.

But, if you can hit you can hit and these bats are still better than wood for sure. The more you use them the more you get the feel for them and will no longer notice the difference. From my expierence with them the good hitters still had good numbers and good power numbers, it just refines your skills as a hitter and will prepare you for the next level.

On a side note most bbcor's seem to have a break in period the more you use them the better they get , as was previously the opposite. But with the emerges of BBCOR you see the underground market of bat rolling become bigger and bigger. The more you bash those walls together the stronger they get , so get out there and get swinging

quote:

Originally posted by lambo:
BBCOR is a step in the right direction for high school and college baseball. But, if you can hit you can hit and these bats are still better than wood for sure.

+1!

I live up here too Northwest and I know the cold will probably make the bats sting more but it is the best thing for the players.

As much fun as it is seeing 'dingers' hit all the time the game has slurred too far to the hitters side. Games were getting ridiculously long, pitchers were at risk of getting hurt and boys often thought they were better than they were due to the high tech bats that are out there.

This levels the playing field. Good hitters will still hit but guys that have poor fundamentals will be exposed. Guys that aren't bomb hitters, but can square up and drive a baseball will become more in demand as well. Baseball will have to be played the way it was supposed to be played, with timely hitting and good defense, not clubbing another team into submission.

I think it is a good thing.

I have to weight in on this one and say that if even one pitcher or other infielder avoids a season or career ending shot back at you, then camplain all day if it makes you feel better. The pre-BBCOR bats added too much on the hitters side and posed a lot of risk for a little glory a hitter might enjoy. I second the notion that it makes things a bit more even again, that is from a pitcher's perspective.

quote:

Originally posted by northwest:
After participating in on-field batting practice today at our first practice, I'm here to tell you there will be fewer than 40 home runs in the entire state of WA this HS season. BBCOR, cold weather, wet weather, but especially BBCOR is going to absolutely slash homerun totals. Balls usually going to the fence were dying like a shot down bird. These BBCOR bats are absolutely horrible. Our best 3 bats (white Marucci's) are banned so that makes it even worse haha.

Well northwest, I don’t what to say, other than everyplace that’s used them for a full season has found out that while the numbers went down, no one was walking off of teams, fans still were interested, and virtually no excitement was lost.

You just happen to be one of those people who feels the game sucks when there aren’t a lot of home runs, and that’s too bad because there a whole lot more to baseball than everyone on the team being a HR threat.

whoa whoa whoa I never said this was bad for the game, did I??? I was just pointing out that doubled with the cold up here in the NW, home runs will be few and far between...

Just because I bring that up means I'm against it? OK

The sweet spot is substantially smaller. If you nail the sweet spot, the ball flies same as ever. But you'll see that with lesser frequency for sure. Balls not hit dead on definitely do not carry.

Our 2013 is a Pitcher. 2 yrs. ago, when he was batting with a metal bat, he hit the ball very hard. The ball hit their Pitcher right in the head. He lay motionless & silent. Everyone feared the worst. The young man was Life-Flighted to a Trauma Center in an even bigger city. He was in the hospital a couple of weeks & then had to be home-schooled for weeks. Fortunately, he fully recovered. The 2 boys have kept in touch.

I for one, am happy with the new bat rules. Actually think youth & High School Baseball, should have stayed with wood bats, all along. Made hitting ability of some players, look better than they probably actually are / were. Invited bad & improper mechanics in their swing. Now, it'll clarify good hitting mechanics and strenth, and capitalize on speed and good base running. That and great Pitching. Ought to be interesting.

The downside with the BBCOR bats, besides feeling like dead weight after hitting with the Metal bats, is depending where you play...they are not made to be played with under certain temperatures. They will break or perform even worse. So, use the wood til it warms up. JMO

Northwest, I got what you are saying and I agree. Maybe I am quick to agree because as we finished the first day of tryouts yesterday (in SUNNY weather) I walked off in 32-degree temperatures, shivering despite wearing 4-5 layers - and today we're potentially getting snowed on. NW weather definitely adds another layer of depressed offense to the game, above and beyond BBCOR.

That said, I welcome the change to BBCOR, and Shelby's story reminds me of yet ANOTHER reason why. We had gotten to a point where the bats just weren't safe enough for pitchers, IMO. Add to that the fact that it is GOOD for the game and players' development to have to learn to square up the ball to be rewarded, and to have to learn how to play little ball when it is called for...it is a good thing.

You don't have to guess northwest. We went through this last year in Ca. HR's went down by 50%, extra base hits by 35%. I don't remember the scoring %, but there were more 1 run games. 1 run is what used to be 2 runs. Squared up balls still go a long way....

BOF, to reiterate what you are saying, I remember seeing some figures for the 1st half of the first season of college ball (Div. I) with BBCOR, and being so shocked that I wrote 'em down:

Runs, down 6.98 to 5.63
BA, down .301 to .279
HR, down .85/game to .47/game
ERA, down 5.83 to 4.62
Shutouts, up from 227 to 444

I also wrote down these for Div II and III:

DII

Runs, down 6.86 to 5.90
HR, down .72/game to .43/game

DIII
Runs, down 7.05 to 6.03
HR, down .54/game to .30/game

After a cool Eastern Washington first day of practice, I'm kinda diggin' these bats! My son is a pitcher that also spent the winter swingin' wood in the cages. He comes out at one hops one off the wall on day 1! Which is all he could do with the old style bats! He is going to prosper with pitching now and his hitting style will now fit the new bats. Nothing cheap anymore and watching teams manufacture runs will make for some really interesting HS games - Can't Wait!

I was watching college basketball the other day and I think it would be a good idea for the NCAA to raise the rims 2 feet. It's just way too easy to score and the good shooters will be okay. ;-)
Just Kidding!!!!

Really guys, do you think the pitchers are really any safer? A batter "squaring it up" at 55' will 1/100 to 1/200 (or about that) of a second really going to help that much? They can give any reason they want for BBCOR but I'm not buying safety.

They could have toned them down, BBCOR went too far.
IMHO.
I watched San Diego State vs. Oregon State (Friday's game) on Sunday. No homeruns. Both teams using Marucci Black bats except one with an Easton and one a Cat5. High scoring game SDSU won 18-2 but mostly from bad play by OS.

One kid on my son's high school team hit a homerun and it would have been out of most HS fields but the kid is a senior 6'4" 245 lbs. not your normal HS player.

Baseball is the only sport that they made a change to reduce scoring.

Let's give them all nerf balls and bats. Or go to wood. I have a feeling the 33" Cat 5 will only be the first bat to go and it is going to end up a big confusing mess.

quote:

Originally posted by Ninthmanout:

Let's give them all nerf balls and bats. Or go to wood. I have a feeling the 33" Cat 5 will only be the first bat to go and it is going to end up a big confusing mess.

It already did...

http://compositebats.com/maruc...33-inch-decertified/

They could always move the fences in some. That way you still get the safety aspect and some dingers thrown in as well. But then again what school has the money to do it.

quote:

Originally posted by cball:
They could always move the fences in some. That way you still get the safety aspect and some dingers thrown in as well. But then again what school has the money to do it.

Think differently. Just move the bases out on a softball field.

quote:

Really guys, do you think the pitchers are really any safer? A batter "squaring it up" at 55' will 1/100 to 2/100 (or about that) of a second really going to help that much? They can give any reason they want for BBCOR but I'm not buying safety.

Ninthmanout,

Actually this has been discussed before. First of all, YES, a fraction of a second can be the difference between a direct hit and a glancing blow. However,, IMO, the biggest difference when it comes to real dangerous situations is the sweet spot on any bat (even wood).

In other words, frequency of balls hit like a rocket get less the smaller the sweet spot on the bat. So, as an example, if half as many balls are perfectly squared up... you have cut the danger factor in half. Then when you add the reduction of speed off the bat, it becomes slightly less dangerous. No bat, even wood, will eliminate the risk of serious injury completely. They just lower the odds or frequency!

quote:

Originally posted by Ninthmanout:

I watched San Diego State vs. Oregon State (Friday's game) on Sunday. No homeruns. Both teams using Marucci Black bats except one with an Easton and one a Cat5. High scoring game SDSU won 18-2 but mostly from bad play by OS.

Where was the game on?!!?

quote:

Originally posted by Ninthmanout:

Just Kidding!!!!

Really guys, do you think the pitchers are really any safer? A batter "squaring it up" at 55' will 1/100 to 1/200 (or about that) of a second really going to help that much? They can give any reason they want for BBCOR but I'm not buying safety.

They could have toned them down, BBCOR went too far.
IMHO.

Baseball is the only sport that they made a change to reduce scoring.

Yes, I believe pitchers are safer with the BBCOR bats. As PG points out, simply cutting back the number of "shots right back at you" reduces the risk. I can tell you or yours have not been impacted by a shot right back at you. You are way off in thinking this is just about scoring!

Look at the vidio on the link below, pre-BBCOR. I am so very glad that this ball did not hit the pitcher (my son) in some other spot. You can see there was NO reaction time.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...ry-vid_n_525386.html

AL MA 08,

I didn't know Corey was your son. What an unbelievable play! That hurt just watching it.

It sure has been fun seeing him grow over the years.

The kid who hit the ball was at the PG National in Minneapolis the year after Corey played at the PG National in Cincinnati.

We might see him in Cedar Rapids this year if things work out that way.

My knee hurts just watching that.

It has only been 5 games or so for most AZ teams, but the biggest factor that is standing out is that the big hitters are still hitting them out. We have multiple guys across the state with 2-3 HR's and one that I know who has 4. The one thing that really stands out is the fact that the guys who hit 5 a year is going to go way down. We should see a huge diference between the guys with HR power and the singles guys. No cheapies this year.

Article in DIII baseball on the new bats toward the bottom.

http://www.d3baseball.com/colu...ation/2012/ATN_Feb29

I find it interesting that the coaches are generally in support of the change, but last year I remember all of the D1 coaches at least, whining about the new bats.

I guess most love them now except perhaps the UTexas coach whose team hit 17 home runs last season after bombing 81 in 2010…. Ouch. I guess the UT coach is going to have to learn to coach now….

Good read enjoy.

quote:

Originally posted by BOF:
…I find it interesting that the coaches are generally in support of the change, but last year I remember all of the D1 coaches at least, whining about the new bats. …

Lot of that whining was ignorance, but most of it was the normal human resistance to change, no matter what the change or how much it might be a positive change. Usually, reality will take care of both the ignorance and the resistance.

Look at how many teams increased their sac bunts. Of the 8 CWS teams from last season, 7 of them had increased the number. Only UNC didn't and they had the exact same as 2010 (35). Texas went from 75 to 111 and UF went from 30 to 64. Then you have teams like Florida State that decreased their number of bunts and you see where that got them.

Singles are good again.

Getting back to (at least part of) northwest's original point: third day of tryouts, and it is snowing at my house in Seattle right now....

I'm a teacher's assistant during this class period and I'm looking out the window at the baseball field and it is a thin layer of white covering the turf infield. Visibility is extremely low though so practice might get cancelled. Basketball team is in the state tournament so we can't use the gym.

5" on the ground here, but is supposed to be 60 on Saturday for their intersqaud scrimmage - Must be baseball season!

I’ll share an amusing story that has to do with the switch to BBCOR bats. First off I’m not going to get in a hitting philosophy argument. I’ve always believed that using the big muscles to help swing the bat is the key to consistency and power in the swing. I’ve been preaching this to my son and all the boys I’ve coached since they were 8 years old. My son is a HS FR now, if it matters.

We were hitting at a local indoor facility a while back, and while we were hitting, I overheard the guy next to us giving hitting lessons to a 10/11 year old kid. Now I almost always seemed to be the one talking about “rotation” and “Turning on the pitch” so I was used to hearing normal linear (at least what I consider linear) hitting cues.

This instructor said;

“Now remember, you’ve got to use other parts of your body besides your hands to swing the bat. With BBCOR bats, you have to swing like this, or you won’t have any power. The swing you used last season simply won’t work.”

I almost started laughing. Hey if the switch to BBCOR bats makes instructors start to realize that power in the swings is produced by the big muscles, then I think it’s a great thing.

That being said, I think my son is going to try and convinced his HS Coach to let him use wood. He used his wood bat exclusively during try outs and actually got tapped for V this season. Last week the kid told me he got done hitting (on the field BP) and one of the Seniors asked my son which BBCOR he was using. When my son told him he wasn’t, it was a wood bat, he said the look on this kid’s face was pretty funny.

Hitters will still hit. I think BBCOR will get rid of a lot of the “barely” shots that left ball parks previously. I think the kids who hit more than a few homeruns with BESR will still have their share of them.

Just my 2 cents.

If you look at the numbers in college last season after one year of use, the bats effects are tremendous. There are always positives and negatives with any change.

BBCOR bats are going to help kids realize you can't just throw your hands at the baseball. You need to use your core, lower and upper half together to generate the bat speed needed to drive the ball.

Here is a good article on how the BBCOR bats are changing the game. http://recruitingcycle.com/bbc...ve-changed-the-game/

bballdad175

The game was on at the end of the last season. Don't remember the channel 600 something on DirectV.

PGStaff,

What you say about frequency of hard hits coming back to the pitch is true.... today. But I have yet to see a rule restricting the size of the sweet spot.
As the bat makers get the engineering down you will see the sweet spot increasing in size. Marucci Black and Rip-It Prototype II come to mind as far as increased size of the sweet spot.

By the way .... my son's ExoGrid2 just developed a really bad sounding vibration after only 7 months of light use. We got it in July after his summer season for a Showcase that required BBCOR bats. Since then he has only used it for a few prospect camps and this season a total of 7 ABs. Batting practice was mostly wood. LS has to do better.
I just ordered him a Rip-IT 33.5 inch. Sent back the Exo and will most likely sell it at a discount.

quote:

Originally posted by northwest:
After participating in on-field batting practice today at our first practice, I'm here to tell you there will be fewer than 40 home runs in the entire state of WA this HS season. BBCOR, cold weather, wet weather, but especially BBCOR is going to absolutely slash homerun totals.

The bigger problem for NW players is lack of experience...and yes, it's weather related.

Short seasons, rainouts, and a general apathy (compared to other parts of the country) toward baseball combine to yield players with far fewer at-bats and less training time. A lot of good athletes from Washington couldn't find the sweetspot on a bat with a map.

BBCOR bats won't slow the development of players in most areas...although in the NW they may turn some kids back to s_o_c_c_e_r.

quote:

Originally posted by brute66:

"The bigger problem for NW players is lack of experience...and yes, it's weather related.

"Short seasons, rainouts, and a general apathy (compared to other parts of the country) toward baseball combine to yield players with far fewer at-bats and less training time."

This has some truth to it, but...and not to pick a fight, but asking out of genuine curiousity...how is it that a self-described "baseball dad" from the Mid Lakes region knows all that much about northwest players?

The NW HS season is short, wet, cold, and sloppy, but summer / select ball in the northwest is thriving and the weather in the summer is generally pretty good (at least once kids get out of school...). NW kids at higher levels have done pretty well nationally. So - like many other things in life - "it depends" and such generalities aren't that helpful. There are definitely fewer kids playing here at that high level, and many of the swings for those that are come inside, in a cage, but the best of our region can and have competed on a fairly equal footing with those from sunnier climates.

quote:

Originally posted by EdgarFan:
This has some truth to it, but...and not to pick a fight, but asking out of genuine curiousity...how is it that a self-described "baseball dad" from the Mid Lakes region knows all that much about northwest players?

I live in the NW. Raised kids here. Have traveled around the country watching college and minor league games and have seen players and talked to scouts from all over the nation.

Baseball is a game learned by repetition and, generally speaking, NW kids get substantially less of it.

Boy has this post taken a turn

quote:

Originally posted by lambo:
BBCOR is a step in the right direction for high school and college baseball. It will expose the weaker hitters or hitters who may have used the "juiced" bats as a crutch.

But, if you can hit you can hit and these bats are still better than wood for sure. The more you use them the more you get the feel for them and will no longer notice the difference. From my expierence with them the good hitters still had good numbers and good power numbers, it just refines your skills as a hitter and will prepare you for the next level.

Like you said, this is going to expose a lot with players. I always said, the ability a player has with wood can transfer to aluminum but not the other way around. Homeruns will happen this year.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...index=1&feature=plcp

quote:

Originally posted by LOVINGIT:

quote:

Originally posted by lambo:
BBCOR is a step in the right direction for high school and college baseball. It will expose the weaker hitters or hitters who may have used the "juiced" bats as a crutch.

But, if you can hit you can hit and these bats are still better than wood for sure. The more you use them the more you get the feel for them and will no longer notice the difference. From my expierence with them the good hitters still had good numbers and good power numbers, it just refines your skills as a hitter and will prepare you for the next level.

Like you said, this is going to expose a lot with players. I always said, the ability a player has with wood can transfer to aluminum but not the other way around. Homeruns will happen this year.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...index=1&feature=plcp

...and the next question that our power hitter is gonna wanna know after these 2 posts & video clip..... WHAT BAT WAS HE USING?

quote:

Originally posted by Shelby:

quote:

Originally posted by LOVINGIT:

quote:

Originally posted by lambo:
BBCOR is a step in the right direction for high school and college baseball. It will expose the weaker hitters or hitters who may have used the "juiced" bats as a crutch.

But, if you can hit you can hit and these bats are still better than wood for sure. The more you use them the more you get the feel for them and will no longer notice the difference. From my expierence with them the good hitters still had good numbers and good power numbers, it just refines your skills as a hitter and will prepare you for the next level.

Like you said, this is going to expose a lot with players. I always said, the ability a player has with wood can transfer to aluminum but not the other way around. Homeruns will happen this year.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...index=1&feature=plcp

...and the next question that our power hitter is gonna wanna know after these 2 posts & video clip..... WHAT BAT WAS HE USING?

LOL @ Shelby, in all honesty, that would be my quesition as well. And the answer is.... Rawlings 5150