NEW NCAA Bats, BAD?
 

Last evening I happened to work a college fall ball game. Nice game for this time of year. The one thing of interest I wanted to bring up here was the players opinion of the new bat rule compliant bats they were forced to use.

The team had 3 Nike bats held to the new standard. That's all they were allowed to use. Everyone one of the players in the game hated the new bats. They complained the bats were dead, and they did not get much carry with them.

Obviously, it could be they are Nike bats, and that's the problem. But I am wondering if any of you had noticed or heard the same reaction?

If you have heard the same comments, then maybe the new NCAA bat standard will be a good one for the game.

Opinions?

Good. Sign them up for slow pitch softball if they want a bat to do all the work. Best thing that could happened for NCAA baseball.

My son works at a high end baseball store, and all his reports are that the new bats suck. An Easton rep showed him the modifications that they made, and they explained why. Easton added braced rings as supports inside the bat. They add strength, and decrease flex. It's changed the swing weight, and deadened the pop. So they don't swing as quickly, and the ball doesn't go as far.

I've worked several college fall games in the past few weeks and none of the players like them, which probably means that the new rule is a success already. One team is using Rawlings compliant bats and I'm not sure what the other team was using, but they were dead too. Definitely no "piiiing!" anymore.

Too bad we have to wait another year for FED ball to comply.

Interesting....
 

At the recent game I did, several players told me that they also had problems with the bats denting. Maybe it's the brand (anyone ever seen a good Nike Bat?), but I wonder how much is real change and how much perception. In my game we still had a bunch of rockets hit, but only 1 homer.

Also interesting was the response of an F2 in the game. When he complained I said, "Well you have to hit it on the screws right?" He said he had not really found a sweet spot like a wooden bat has.

Looks like the new bats will work, but there will be a big adjustment period for players and maybe manufacturers. So unlike kylejt, I believe that FED waiting a year is a good idea; let the NCAA people work the kinks out then use a more proven product for HS kids.

Looks like it ought to be interesting next season, but I wonder how we are going to be policing teams with these new sticks. Are we going to have to carry a notebook with pictures to every field? Get into the dugouts again?

Just listen for the "ping"....:D

JJ

That doesn't suck, that makes the players actually hit the ball instead of letting the bat do all the work. Maybe we'll see more 2-1 games and less 13-12 games. If so, great. And maybe the bat manufacturers won't be able to justify a $300 price tag for their bats anymore. If so, even better.

I'm just telling you what the players are reporting back to the store. As an umpire, I couldn't care less.

Again? When did we stop in high school?

+1. Getting off the field faster is never a bad idea.

The bats will have to have a certification mark.

"This Bat Is SUCK Certified"

:D

JJ

Wait until these "wonder boys" get a contract and walk onto a professional field. The biggest adjustment these players have to make is using a wood bat!

The bat companies are finally doing what they claimed they were doing five years ago, making their bats perform more like wood. Some studies I've seen indicate a loss in distance of between 7-9%. Woo Hoo!

Players don't like it? Bummer. Good hitters will still hit.

Just use wood...

We have a High School summer wood bat league here and it has taken all of the kids out of Legion A & AA level ball. They still score runs in bunches. Nothing like the sound of wood at a ball game. I know someone will bring up cost or safety due to broken bats. There are great bats out there that will give the performance of wood but break like wood....

MetalWood Bats | Discover MetalWood Bats

Ah, but would this be considered a composite bat, since it's comprised of more that one piece?

High school kids aren't strong enough to do much with a broken bat...the cost issue is what the bat companies bring up to scare people away from wood.

When I check bats before the game I'm umpiring, there are entire bat racks of $300 bats...you can buy a lot of wood bats for $3000.

"Composite" is about the material.

Every metal bat is a composite of one sort or another. Aluminum, magnesium, manganese, silicon, and zinc. Does HS define what a composite is?

Heavy Metal Outch?
 

Like the recent rise in questionable MLB umpiring calls, over-exposure plays an important role in the whole decision making process. I am sure that something more than rising home runs, fatalities, and run deficits led to the ban on high-performance metal bats. Mark me down as not supporting the new NCAA dead bat era. With less pop in the bat, a player is less likely to swing at a pitch. If a player is less likely to swing at a pitch, more pitches will be thrown. If more pitches are thrown, the game will last as long or longer than previous years.

Sorry, No sell
 

What you say makes sense only if the pitching and defense gets worse. If you have a good F1 throwing strikes you will get more balls in play, and more outs.

Not if you call them strikes. ;)

Not sure what all the hoop la is all about. The bat standards are attempting to make the metal bat respond like a wood bat. If someone thinks they have become less effective than the wood then by all means use wood... Surely you do not want the batter to have a substantial edge on the pitchers do you? Its actually nice to think that the possibility of low scoring games and pitching inside may return to amateur baseball.

Count me as being in favor of the new bat standards and also pardon my pause as I call my accountant to instruct him to buy some more metal bat company stock.. :D

I umpired a fall game at Tulane, and they hit 2 homeruns to opposite field using the new bats.. they are a little bit softer, but it doesn't make a difference.. still have to hit a round ball with a round bat square..LOL

maybe a good thing
 

And maybe a return to "small ball" when players know how to actually bunt, hit to the opposite field etc., all which has become a lost art in todays modern bat world.

Thanks
David

Do the new bats have a different sound to them?

JJ

Something has to improve the college game...the high scoring, slow-pitch softball style of baseball...is not for me that's for sure.

Yes. though I can't tell what it's like, but it is different.

No more "ping"...more like a "thunk".

Music to my ears

that is about right.. I think it is a good thing for the game, make it a little more competitive.

One D-I school around here has been in intrasquad games for three weeks and has hit zero homers. They've also played two scrimmages in which no runs were scored.

The batters uniformly hate them and the pitchers are delighted with them. They use Easton, by the way. College ball is back to being something of a pitcher's game. That's the way it should be. The added safety is a huge plus.

Sweet!

An Update
 

I have been fortunate to work some more D1 Fall stuff, and got into a conversation with an F3 about the bats. He said that there was a sweet spot on the bat, and you can still hit the ball hard, but you have to hit it one the screws to make it go. Sounds like they are close to a wood bat. Now the next questions are: Will they last? Will they be able to be tampered with? Will they dent easily?

So IMO, it's all good, I have seen some HR's, a good number of rocket shots, and they act like wood bats.

I personally think the biggest adjustment for us as umpires will be reading fly balls early next year. The ball reacts so differently it is hard not to go out on balls you think were crushed by the sound and trajectory, but end up being a can of corn when you go out.

It will take some games to get used to it, but no big deal really.

As long as they all have to use the same equipment that is made to the same standard, then the world of NCAA baseball will be fine.

just now popped back in after football season... and this report of the new bats is music to my ears!!