I've been to a few of my son's Fall scrimmages, and there's no doubt the new baseball is carrying much further. 247-son plays in a relatively large "Pitchers" college ballpark and there hasn't been many dingers hit there since the new BBCOR bats were implemented. I know it's early on, but I'd estimate the HR totals this Fall to have increased 3-4 times compared to the past three Fall seasons.
My son, a RHP, actually likes the new balls. Yes, he's given up two long balls this Fall, but he feels like he has more movement on his Change/Fastball. I'm curious to see what the actual results will be when the regular season begins in February.
I'm not too familiar with the recent changes, but I do know that when I was in college (2001-2005) the laces were very high, but in pro baseball the laces were a lot tighter/lower. As a pitcher, I liked the college balls better, but I guess pitchers will get used to it. They're going to have to get used to it anyway if they want to pitch in the pro ranks.
Originally Posted by Moosecheese:
Interesting. Does anyone think this is a reaction to the new bats at the college level?
That is exactly what it is. Many college coaches feel that the identity of college baseball was lost with the change to the BBCOR bat.