[MikeStrybel]

I received my Baseball Express equipment catalogue the other day. After picking my jaw off the ground at the cost of gear, I brought the magazine to my football team's practice. A couple of guys also coach baseball and I wanted to give them a heads up on buying bats (many get their kids new sticks for Xmas). After reminding them that last year's bats would now be banned by our league, one guy whined that the bat didn't make a difference.

Here are the final NCAA stats after the new bat rule went into place.

D1:
Batting Average 2011 = .282 Batting Average 2010 = .305
Home runs 2011 = .52 per game Home runs 2010 = .94 per game
Runs Scored 2011 = 6.98 per game Runs Scored 2010 = 5.58 per game
ERAs 2011 = 4.67 per game ERAs 2010 = 5.95 per game

D2:
Batting Average 2011 = .289 Batting Average 2010 = .309
Home runs 2011 = .44 per game Home runs 2010 = .72 per game
Runs Scored 2011 = 5.78 per game Runs Scored 2010 = 6.75 per game
ERAs 2011 = 5.04 per game ERAs 2010 = 6.08 per game

D3:
Batting Average 2011 = .292 Batting Average 2010 = .314
Home runs 2011 = .35 per game Home runs 2010 = .58 per game
Runs Scored 2011 = 5.90 per game Runs Scored 2010 = 7.08 per game
ERAs 2011 = 5.13 per game ERAs 2010 = 6.30 per game

I haven't seen a HS study done with the less lively bats but my guess is that next year we will see fewer long balls and shots through the infield.