NCAA Bans Composite Bats

Truth be told, and this coming from a pitchers father, I like Aluminum bats in college baseball. I can appreciate the differences between college and pro and the "ting" of the bat means something special.

I fear that bringing wood to college baseball would bring about a plethora of bunting and slow rolling infield base hits, instead of the drama of the faster game made possible through aluminum bats.

As to the NCAA, they're taking your comments under advisement and will get back to you through proper channels after being directed to the proper office and reviewed by the proper committee. They thank you for your concern and want you to know they feel very strongly on the issue, one way or another.

P.S. The NCAA has replied with, "Could you repeat your question please?"

Something that has been bothering me about this whole ban is brought up in the attached article.

In many ways, the NCAA has highlighted the practice and made it even more commonly known. Assuming that high schools don't ban these bats for the 2010 season, I would assume that every HS kid in America is going to be trying to get their hands on one of these bats - and will roll it at once.

The other question in my mind (as the parent of a Juco pitcher) - has there been any consideration at the Juco or NAIA level of following the NCAA ban?

To me there is no going back - they need to be banned at all levels.

I would like to see wood bats from the high school level on.

Wood bats equate to REAL BASEBALL !!!!!

CPLZ: It's funny that you say that you like aluminum better as a pitcher's dad. I like wood better even though I'm a hitter's dad. It's simply a truer game with wood. I'd rather see a little more small ball like bunts and slow rollers than what I see now with the aluminum-bat jam shots that just drop in over the second baseman's head or the lazy flyball homers that should be outs but scrape the back of the fence instead. You find out who the real hitters are with a wooden bat.

As for the "faster" play of an aluminum bat game, I call it "longer." Four-hour 15-13 games are brutal. Give me that two-and-a-half-hour 5-3 game any day. The summer leagues show that college kids can play a pretty good brand of baseball with wood. I hope the composite ban is the first step toward going to wood at the college level. TRHit is right. That's real baseball.

What are the odds the National Federation of State High School Associations ends up following suit and banning these bats before the spring season? I ask that as a parent about to buy a new bat for my son's senior year, and was leaning towards a composite before all this hoopla broke out.

quote:

Truth be told, and this coming from a pitchers father, I like Aluminum bats in college baseball.

Uh oh, looks like this could a rare strain of Stockholm Syndrome called "Eastonitus." It might be time to plan a little intervention for our good friend CPLZ

Seriously though, aside from making some college shortstops adjust to slow rollers and actually start charging ground balls(!) I don't think wood bats would bring any wholesale changes to the college game. There's already a lot of small ball played in the college ranks- nothing new here. Anyone who's watched the summer collegiate game knows that (after the initial adjustment period) the game is extremely well-balanced and very enjoyable. A crisp two hour game is indeed a thing of beauty. The biggest difference IMO would be seen on Sundays and double headers, where metal bats now run roughshod on tired pitching staffs.
As for HS, I share 08's concerns. The guys who provided this "service" in the past will have to look to a new market now. That will logically be HS and JUCO. Unless BATCO stops making the composites altogether, Daddy will buy them, someone will roll them, and players will use them.
Melt the bats

PROP approves committee action on composite bats

Aug 24, 2009 3:43:21 PM


By Greg Johnson
The NCAA News

The NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel approved the NCAA Baseball Rules Committee’s recommendation to remove, at least temporarily, composite bats from NCAA competition.

The rules committee proposed the action in July and met again via conference call August 17 after hearing comments from the membership and manufacturers about the recommendation. After considerable discussion, the rules committee concluded that composite bats will not be allowed for the time being.

The committee’s main concern about composite bats is that they are susceptible to performance improvement above standards set by the NCAA, either through normal use or alterations to the bats.

While committee members are not convinced that simple compliance testing of specific bats will solve what they see to be a significant problem in the sport, the committee agreed with a suggestion from the NCAA Baseball Research Panel to seek additional testing to determine if it is feasible to allow composite bats in NCAA play this season.

The research panel met with baseball bat manufacturers August 12 in Indianapolis to explore whether composite bats could be used within NCAA guidelines and parameters.

During the 2009 Division I Baseball Championship, composite bats were selected for ball exit speed ratio (BESR) certification tests. Of the 25 bats tested, 20 failed the official BESR test for current NCAA performance levels. Because all bat designs must pass that test before mass production, the results indicated that the performance of such bats changed thereafter, most likely due to repeated, normal use or intentional alteration.

In the meantime, the NCAA plans to conduct additional testing that will provide the baseball rules committee another opportunity for review. Additionally, the committee is open to providing an opportunity for companies to prove that their bats would meet current NCAA standards regardless of use or tampering.

As for beyond the upcoming season, the baseball research panel is recommending that an Accelerated Break-In (ABI) process be added to the certification process under the new Ball-Bat Coefficient of Restitution (BBCOR) standard to help address the issue of improved performance and further the goal of having all bats in NCAA play remain under the NCAA limit through the life of the bat.

The BBCOR is a method designed to measure the performance of the bat. The ABI is designed to replicate repeated use or intentional alteration of the bat. This process has been used with some success in the certification process for softball bats.

I'm not sure that comparing summer collegiate wood bat leagues, to what you would see in normal collegiate baseball is fair. Leagues like Alaska, Cape Cod, Northwoods, Coastal Plains, are all designed for the upper echelon collegiate player. It's not surprising at that level that the players adapt nicely. I have reservations about the collegiate game at large making the same quality of adjustment to wood. I'm not opposed to the 5-3 game vs. the 13-10 game, but fear the dropoff would be greater than that. I think we may see a plethora of 3-1 and 2-1 games.

Low scoring games are fine, if players are executing...but low scoring games because the players can't execute are brutal.

Faster play I believe is achieved with aluminum because it does more to showcase the fielders talents and speed. It increases the range of SS and 2nd baseman, and shows off the arm strength of 3B. It forces outfielders to have speed to get to gaps and lines to cut off balls and hold baserunners. It doesn't just advantage the hitter, it forces athleticism in the field. That appreciation for the fielders talents and speed, I think will be quite diminished with wood.

CPLZ,
When are you going to admit that a bat company kidnapped you at an early age and that you've bonded?

College baseball "wood" be fine with wood. They'd be playing baseball and it might be a little less exciting if you are a lover of slugfests and balls hit off the handle for clean hits.

Actually, there'd be more appreciation for fielders speed with wood as there would be more balls that could be reached, they'd just be a little further away making for more spectacular plays.

NCAA could easily set the BBCOR specs to match that of wood. If they did, all bats would hit the same regardless of what they're made of.

That is what they should do, but they don't because it would kill the market aimed at parents willing to shell out $400 to gain an advantage for Junior.

I'm in favor of creating a new college division where D1-3 uses wood or wood equivalents and the new DP division uses any technology available that allows spaghetti-wristed emo-jocks to get the ball through the infield.

quote:

Originally posted by CADad:
CPLZ,
When are you going to admit that a bat company kidnapped you at an early age and that you've bonded?

Okay, Okay...my family owns an aluminum mine in Herzegovinia. We aren't allowed to have ziploc bags in our house, everything gets wrapped in foil.

Can you blame a guy for trying to take care of his family?

quote:

NCAA could easily set the BBCOR specs to match that of wood. If they did, all bats would hit the same regardless of what they're made of.

The reason artificial bats originated was out of a desire to control costs due to breaking.

The problem is, broken bats are part of the game. I love to see a pitcher saw a guy off. There is no ability to do this with metal or composites. So, no artificial bat will ever adequately duplicate wood.

Catfish nailed it!

Folks - get a clue. Some schools (particularily those that use Easton bats) were cheating their *** off. It's called "bat rolling" and it began in men's slow pitch softball. When you "roll" a composite bat it increases the trampoline effect and the ball jumps. Tim Corbin at Vanderbilt (among others) raised the issue, the bats were tested at the CWS and the culprits were discovered.

All you have to do is look at this website among many others...
http://www.worldshottestbats.com/


I just wish the NCAA would call a spade a spade and quit using euphenisms like "ABI" --- face it: some schools were cheating. If you are intentionally altering the equipment to improve performance it is called cheating!

The only long term solution is return to wood. But it won't happen because the metal bat companies own the coaches --- big school coaches are paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to use their bats. As usual, money corrupts the process.

Anything but wood after high school is ridiculous. Might as well be watching a 13-10 slow-pitch softball game.. at least then I can enjoy a cold one to help ease the misery.

Metal bats reward only the junkball pitchers and dive hitters, and very few of them adapt at the next level. Ever wonder why their numbers drop off in the Summmer? The hitters never learned to control the sweet spot and the pitchers never learned to paint the inside black with a real fastball. Just not baseball, IMHO.

Natural- you nailed it. Some would be considered cheaters if they intentionally "rolled" or tampered with the composite bats to break them down faster, thus creating the larger trampoline effect. One of son's friends got a new bat for his D1 team. The bat rep told him to run over it with his truck to break it in! True story. He chose not to run it over. But we saw him hit monster home runs as a senior in hs with his broken down composite bat. Little did we know then how effective that old bat was and why.

Wonder if we'll see HR numbers come down this year in college? Funny how some of those players didn't hit many home runs this summer with wood.

Hard to believe you'd argue that the collegiate game would suffer without metal.

You know, they used to play college ball with wood ....

My son played in many 16-18 yo wood bat tournaments this summer. After a game or two you don't even think about whether they are using wood or metal bats. It's just baseball. Some ball are hit hard, some aren't just like metal games.

IMO wood is the way to go. To have a 6'4", 235# muscled 22 yo hitting with aluminum/composite is ridiculous. I don't see what he is proving by hitting a 320' pop up HR. If a 14 yo can hit a 350' HR what do you expect a college monster to do. The 430' HR with metal will still be a 390-400' HR with wood. If it's caught on the warning track, oh well, get used to it because the next level is even tougher. If a player can hit with metal he probably can hit with wood, just not as far.

To me there is just no logic to using metal in college. But when was the last time logic got in the way of profit!!