Talent over Technology
In this world of rapidly improving Technology we are seeing some amazing advancements in sporting equipment. Most of the new equipment we see is designed to help athletes reach there potential. Take surfing for example; in the early days of professional surfing the athletes rode long stiff single fined boards that only allowed for a few simple maneuvers. The talent was there but the technology wasn’t. Not until the invention of 3 fined short boards in the 80’s did we see the true potential of what could be done on wave. These are the advancements we crave for in sports, new equipment that help close the gap between technology and potential.
The flip side to this technological growth is abundant in colligate, high school and youth baseball bat markets. Bats designed to exceed human abilities and make even a mildly powerful hitter become a home run monster have become the standard. These advancements don’t give us a better picture of what an athlete can do; it gives us a false sense of the hitter’s actual power.
The BBCOR regulation that begins for all colligate and high school baseball players on January 1st 2012 will act as the first step in reducing the level of pop a new bat can produce. While this new BBCOR certification is meeting some skepticism from power hungry hitters and homerun fans, some people feel it is the first step toward naturalizing the game. Even Talks of moving to wood bats for all levels of baseball have gained steam among the baseball community. This ground swell tells me that lots of people still want to see what a human can do at the plate without science getting in the way.
The bottom line for sports is to put great athletes together in the same type of situations with the same equipment and see who can come out on top. We as sports fans long to see just how far we can push our human forms. As long as technology is used to help our bodies reach there sporting potential and not create abnormal abilities, we will have honest competition. If we continue to allow our equipment to advance way beyond human capabilities we will loose site of natural human abilities and will simply be watching science.
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