National Federation rule chances for 2007

[UMP25]

Originally Posted by SAump

Perhaps offensive players. With the death of a pitcher who was hit by a batted ball off an aluminum bat, many states are looking at ways to prevent this from ever happening again.

How 'bout getting rid of aluminum bats then? Yeah, yeah, people will scream it's all about the money. Uh huh.

Besides, there isn't any better sound in sports than the crack of a bat--and not the PING of a bat--hitting a baseball.

[TussAgee11]

Originally Posted by UMP25

How 'bout getting rid of aluminum bats then? Yeah, yeah, people will scream it's all about the money. Uh huh.

Besides, there isn't any better sound in sports than the crack of a bat--and not the PING of a bat--hitting a baseball.

Did my first wood bat league game this year, it was pretty neat to see hear. I agree NFHS should go with wood bats. If they are so set on forcing teams to spend money to helmet all defensive players (which would cost alot of money), why not put that money to wood bats? Wouldn't it solve much of the problem?

[SAump]

Originally Posted by TussAgee11

Did my first wood bat league game this year, it was pretty neat to see hear. I agree NFHS should go with wood bats. If they are so set on forcing teams to spend money to helmet all defensive players (which would cost alot of money), why not put that money to wood bats? Wouldn't it solve much of the problem?

Placing blame on the type of bat is like placing blame on the type of weapon that fires a bullet. Aluminum bats are more dangerous only because people prefer to buy them. Wood bats are as dangerous and there is no evidence to support a safer wood bat. This bat discussion leads us to redesigning a safer bullet or wearing a bullet proof mask.

If serious about safety, pass new playground equipment rules. A pitcher standing 60 feet away from an adult hitter places himself at risk. One way to reduce the risk from being struck by a batted ball is to place a screen in front of the pitcher. To protect our children, require the use of protective mask/helmet combos and redesign the baseball as they have in Japan. In Japan, the youth simulated baseball is made of hard synthetic rubber. A dozen rubber baseballs are a lot cheaper than a dozen fielder's helmet with face mask. If everyone agreed to play baseball with a hard rubber ball, than with a plastic helmet-face mask combo wouldn't be needed. That would save everyone a lot of money.

[UMP25]

Your analogy is faulty, for it is the bat and not the ball that is in question at the high school and NCAA levels. A BB gun carries nowhere near the force and potential lethality that a rifle carries.

No one ever said wooden bats were immune from causing injury, but they are less dangerous than metal bats. One need not be a physicist to understand how and why.

If metal bats were no more dangerous, then why do their manufacturers and the various baseball regulatory bodies tinker around with the exit speed ratios and other characteristics of such bats? We don't see continual changes to wooden bats the way we do with metal bats.

Simply put, metal bats are more dangerous.

[TussAgee11]

Originally Posted by SAump

The Japanese love to play our game. Perhaps we can "take away" something from their game. Their "nankyu baseballs are renowned in Japan for their safety and durability." 70 years of baseball tested. Changing the baseball and leaving everything else alone is so much cheaper. The wood bats do not prevent death. Helmets are much more costly. If NFHS knew about this baseball, I feel they would also find this alternative more acceptable than restrictive bat and helmet laws.

Here is some of the dish. http://www.kenkobaseball.com/about.html

Here is some more written in Japanese. http://www.jsbb.or.jp/

Wood bats would decrease the speed that the ball comes off the bat, hence increasing reaction times for players, hence keeping them safer.

So how are wood bats not safer? I like the other poster's analogy of Rifle vs BB gun.

[LDUB]

Originally Posted by TussAgee11

Wood bats would decrease the speed that the ball comes off the bat, hence increasing reaction times for players, hence keeping them safer.

I thought BESR made the speed of the ball coming off non wood bats equal to the speed of a ball of a wooden bat.

"The best major league bat yielded a BESR of 0.728, which the NCAA then set to be the maximum allowed value."

http://www.npl.uiuc.edu/~a-nathan/po...WhitePaper.pdf

[bob jenkins]

Originally Posted by LDUB

I thought BESR made the speed of the ball coming off non wood bats equal to the speed of a ball of a wooden bat.

"The best major league bat yielded a BESR of 0.728, which the NCAA then set to be the maximum allowed value."

http://www.npl.uiuc.edu/~a-nathan/po...WhitePaper.pdf

I think (my opinion only) that while the maximum speed might be (approximately) the same, the area on the bat that can produce that speed is much larger on an aluminum bat than on the wood bat. So, more balls come off the bat at / near the maximum speed on an aluminum bat, and there are more balls that cause / nearly cause severe injuries.

[SAump]

Originally Posted by TussAgee11

Wood bats would decrease the speed that the ball comes off the bat, hence increasing reaction times for players, hence keeping them safer.

So how are wood bats not safer? I like the other poster's analogy of Rifle vs BB gun.

It was a good analogy, but think of a weapons safety timeline as if one exists. Start a child off with a toy gun, switch to the dart gun, add BBs, exchange for the 22 rifle, then move up to the 410 or 20 gauge, and finally the babe is ready for anything. Right? Life is good as you move up in the world. However, kids these days start with a NINTENDO rapid-fire blaster. Without any previous instruction, background check, responsibility or risk training; these young men are then allowed to own semi-automatic weapons. We live in a very dangerous world and it has very little to do with baseball.

Think of the evolution of weapons timeline. Fire off a wooden musket from the early 1800, then fire off a cold steel revolver from the early 1900, and finally fire a hard plastic resin 9-mm pistol a century later. Also look at another sport, tennis. Their racquets follow the same timeline of wood, steel and plastic resin polymers. The serves and volleys now reach speeds of 145 mph. I don't see anyone in the tennis circles demanding a reduction in serving velocity. I am sure plastic resins are cheaper and last forever. Now imagine the dangers of plastic resin polymer bat designs. There wouldn't be a need for steroids. We can make bats out of ceramic, if need be. However, the risks will always remain until we decide to redesign the ball.

[UMP25]

I don't know about the rest of the guys here, but I'd much prefer to get hit by a tennis ball at 145 mph than a baseball at 95 mph.

[Jurassic Referee]

Originally Posted by SAump

Also look at another sport, tennis. Their racquets follow the same timeline of wood, steel and plastic resin polymers. The serves and volleys now reach speeds of 145 mph. I don't see anyone in the tennis circles demanding a reduction in serving velocity.

Can tennis balls rise when served at that speed?

Just wondering.....

[briancurtin]

Originally Posted by SAump

The Japanese love to play our game. Perhaps we can "take away" something from their game. Their "nankyu baseballs are renowned in Japan for their safety and durability." 70 years of baseball tested. Changing the baseball and leaving everything else alone is so much cheaper. The wood bats do not prevent death. Helmets are much more costly. If NFHS knew about this baseball, I feel they would also find this alternative more acceptable than restrictive bat and helmet laws.

Here is some of the dish. http://www.kenkobaseball.com/about.html

Here is some more written in Japanese. http://www.jsbb.or.jp/

lets just play with those squishsy balls that are used in t-ball, or the ones they give away at minor league games...

better yet, just use wiffle balls. as long as no one is standing less four feet from the batter, there will be no fatalaties.