Report on the "New" bats

Coach May we are hearing the same thing out here on the West Coast. At my son's travel team game we heard that Cal State Fullerton took BP a few weeks ago and no one hit one out. Kind of stupid fix the problem and go to wood... Won't happen because of the $$ from the bat companies.

Just curious...if, in fact, the new bats do have less pop than wood...COULD college teams choose to use wood if they wanted to? Or do they have to use aluminum?

Most programs have contracts with the bat companies and players are required to use their bats, gloves, etc.

Will we put asterisks in all the record columns for the Juiced Decade?

I can just hear the MLB scouts talking now after a season of BBCOR:

"Just wait until we get a wood bat in his hands, he is really going to be knocking the cover off the ball."


In truth, it probably won't take long for the scouts to adjust to these new bats in peforming their evaluations of the college season hitters. Bat speed shouldn't change.

Sounds like a good time to be a pitcher doesn't it?

Backstop: that's funny.

I have seen them hit with by multiple college teams, and they feel worse than wood (ball feels soft off the barrel) but they are "hotter" than even the best wood.

It'll take some time for the players to adjust but the ball goes farther off these bats than wood....however, the coaches I spoke with said it's easily a 10% reduction in power.....A ball that went 400 will not go closer to 360.

I only was able to take one round of bp with it...

its defintely better than wood if you square it up...there were a couple home runs hit in bp and a couple in our intersquad scrimmage with it as well...

it is very different from past metal bats in sound and size of the "sweet spot"...you really do have to square it up for it to go...if you get jammed a little its literally about 70% of the old metal bats I'd say..

a lot of kids on my team were complaining about the weight distribution...but thats more of a personal preferece thing...

Overall I'd say it was actually "hotter" than I expected it to be...if you hit it well.

I don't really follow the metal bat industry. Is this across the board with all metal bats? As in college and high school teams have to use them?

quote:

Sounds like a good time to be a pitcher doesn't it?

trojan-skipper,

.....and an even better time to be the mom/dad of a college pitcher. We will worry less. Also, the plate just expanded another 5 inches because you can pitch inside again. It is going to be an interesting year with some small ball being played.

Two weeks ago, my 16 year middle son was pitching at a showcase. Very hard line shot back went right at his glove. It knocked the glove out of his hand it was hit so hard. He had zero time to react, and I'm not sure he did react or if he was just lucky. I swallowed very hard.

Son's Team starts their official Fall Team practices today. They have not yet used them but their Coach has said "subtract 30' in distance."

The good hitters will still hit. Would expect Offense to be down this year for sure.. Pitchers are beginning to "lick their chops."

I can think of a whole bunch of changes as a result of the bats.

Pitch calling - more inside pitching!

Outfield positioning - move 'em in, more line drives could now find the gaps for extra bases.

Coaches more involved in the offensive game, lot more hit and runs, sac bunts, steals, taking the extra base. Speed becomes more important. No more sitting back waiting for your home run hitters to clear the bases.

Containing the running game will have a higher priority for defenses.

More close plays at the plate with the outfield playing in.

Any more?

I'd have to assume that professional scouts are happy to see the new BBCOR bats implemented, as it should be easier to assess prospects. I'm wondering if the college recruiting landscape will change a little? Are colleges going to put even more emphasis on speed and defense? As Backstop17 said, coaches may not be willing to sit back and wait for the 3 run dingers. It's going to be interesting...

Not to keep punching this bag, but batting averages at the college level too are in for a fall. I just looked at some college team totals, subtracted half the doubles, half the triples, and half the home runs and team batting average dropped anywhere from 50 - 70 points, relative to the power of the team.

And this assumes all singles were maintained. But for sure some of those hard strokes in the hole now become an out at first.

quote:

Originally posted by Backstop-17:
Not to keep punching this bag, but batting averages at the college level too are in for a fall. I just looked at some college team totals, subtracted half the doubles, half the triples, and half the home runs and team batting average dropped anywhere from 50 - 70 points, relative to the power of the team.

And this assumes all singles were maintained. But for sure some of those hard strokes in the hole now become an out at first.

I'm not so sure that that's an accurate portrayal of how batting avg.s will be affected. Taking away half of all extra base hits assumes that those would no longer be hits. i.e. most doubles I see are not hit over the of's head, they are in the gap or down the line. While the balls not traveling as far can be expected, balls hit in the gap or down the line are still hits.

I think we're getting our head out over our ski's by predicting exactly how much power and avg numbers will be impacted. The game will be changed, but we are looking at it myopically.

Take for instance, field turf fields. You don't see many Texas leaguers hit on field turf. Why? Because the ball goes through the infield so fast the infielders play way behind the infield, decreasing the gap between the OF and IF. Now if balls don't travel as fast off the bat or through the IF, then the IF's are going to have to play closer, otherwise slow rollers will be base hits. This opens up the IF-OF gap for Texas Leaguers. So before, when moderate hitters would tear loose hoping to jack one out, now they're going to be coached to do the Juan Pierre slap hit over the IF.

The game will change, but much more than just numbers. Necessity is the Mother of invention. The whole approach will be changed, at the plate, offensively, defensively. The ones that adapt quickest and recognize an opponents weakness in their ability to adapt, will be king of the heap for a couple of years.

Last year my son's team was eliminated in the conference playoffs in a 20 to 18 game. His team scored 16 or more runs ten times, 9 or more 23 times. In truth was this really the way baseball was meant to be played? I agree with those who feel speed and defense will take their rightful places in the game. So I'm okay with it so far.

Son's team is an Easton team. He said the first models they got were awful, that he would just as soon use wood. He said they got some newer prototypes a week or so ago and that they are better than the first ones but way deader than last year's. He said it was kind of strange in that the bats they have now aren't painted or anything. He said they're just shiny metal with no brandings or markings or anything other than the grips.

I am not aware of a manufacturer anywhere that brands their prototypes of anything.

Silly question. How about the sound. Metal has had the ping or click. Wood has that unmistakeable crack! Any word on the sound of these new bats? The sound is also a part of solid contact a hitter notices.

The sound will take some getting used to. It doesn't have a memorable sound like we're used to. Watched son's team scrimmage this week-end. Well hit balls that would have been homers or at least warning track
just don't carry. No one seems to like them but I bet the pitchers will. It will be an interesting season of adjustments.