What separates high school and college baseball?

[jacktheripper]

I was wondering what everyone thinks about the biggest differences in high school and college baseball. Some of you guys on here have probably played at the college level. What do you guys think?

[Dead Poet]

I was wondering what everyone thinks about the biggest differences in high school and college baseball. Some of you guys on here have probably played at the college level. What do you guys think?

 

Scholarships!

[davidlimbaugh]

I was wondering what everyone thinks about the biggest differences in high school and college baseball. Some of you guys on here have probably played at the college level. What do you guys think?

 

SPEED OF THE GAME

 

SIZE of the players

 

SLIDER

 

Did I mention SPEED OF THE GAME

[catsbackr]

I was wondering what everyone thinks about the biggest differences in high school and college baseball. Some of you guys on here have probably played at the college level. What do you guys think?

 

It's a much bigger pond in college. In high school, you can be the BIG FISH, but the pond is a lot bigger when you get to college. Many times, you are not nearly as good as you thought you were when you were in high school.

[joedirtbaseball]

SPEED OF THE GAME

 

SIZE of the players

 

SLIDER

 

Did I mention SPEED OF THE GAME

 

There is no question...the speed of the game is the biggest difference...Also college plays a 9-inning game...That makes pitching sooo important...A quality start in college ie. pitch into the 6th-inning and allow no more than 3 or 4 runs, is a must...In High School a pitcher can get you thru the 5th and your only 6-outs away from the end of the game..

[selectedgrain]

First not all of the guys are prepared by the HS coaches that once they reach the JC or 4 yr. college level that every one there was the big gun @ their HS.And the amount of learning each day that has to take place to to get better .I think today for the most part that kids get satisfied to easy and they don't think there is anything left to learn. It is almost like AA ball in the minors, when guys make that jump alot of them think they know it all and they become uncoachable next thing you know the pink slip is in the locker and it is ballgame over. You really need to try in become the best student of the game that you possibly can, because if you are one of the types that thinks you know everything you will not last long. Think about this if you are talented enough to have a chance to make it to your next level. I seriously hope that this can help just one good luck who ever you are.

[rolltide418]

eVERYBODY CAN HIT WELL AND THE PITCHING ROTATION HAS DEPTH AND QUALITY FROM TOP TO BOTTOM.

[broad_axe]

I agree that the speed of the game is the biggest difference. From a pitching standpoint, the majority of college hitters, at least at the D-1 level can handle a plus high school fastball while looking for a breaking ball. Freshman and even ju-co pitchers have to learn to make the adjustment towards locating and changing speeds more often. Mid to uppper 80's over the middle won't get it done. I a lot of people would be really surprised at just how many D-1 pitchers top out at 86-88. As far as hitting goes, unlesss you hit 400 footers in high school, the guys that hit in the gaps are going to be more successful at the next level. The fields are much larger, and a lot of corner outfielders were center fielders in high school.

[dirtyfrank]

College baseball is entirely different from high school baseball. The best high school pitcher you faced is on the mound seemingly everyday in college. You have to be able to handle offspeed stuff in college. You are going to see it more often. I see quite a few high school baseball players who take the breaking stuff early and then chase it late. Some won't swing at offspeed stuff at all until they get two strikes. Chances are if you take the get over offspeed stuff early in the count, then the pitches you get late are going to be much more difficult to hit.

[HTV]

I was wondering what everyone thinks about the biggest differences in high school and college baseball. Some of you guys on here have probably played at the college level. What do you guys think?

 

 

1. Physical maturity

 

2. Skills more refined

 

3. Depth in pitching staff - in high school most teams go one, maybe two deep in quality pitching. In college baseball pitching staffs are generally 6-8 deep in quality.

 

4. Everyday lineup - in high school you have maybe three hitters that you really have to pitch to. The rest you can pitch around and get out with less than your best stuff. In college you only have one, maybe two hitters that you can get out with less than good stuff. Everybody else in the lineup was one of those three in high school. They can all hurt you.

 

5. Coaching - high school coaches do a good job in the limited time that they have. However, in college baseball it is a full time sport. Coaches get to spend more time in game situations and in instructional time throughout the entire year. College fall schedules (or intersquads for NCAA D1 programs) double the time that coaches can spend on the field with players.

 

6. Single sport athletes - in high school very few baseball players are baseball only athletes. Most play either football or basketball, meaning that their time is split between sports. In college 95% of baseball players are baseball only players (the exception being as some very small 4 year colleges) so they have more time to devote to baseball to refine skills and improve God given abilities.

[bizazz]

Definitely a difference in the commitment level. Aside from keeping up with your studies, your life revolves around the baseball team. The team is very much like a fraternity.

 

One major difference relates to the academic side. If you play college football or basketball you are generally competing on evenings and weekends. A lot of college ball (particularly small college) happens during the day. Baseball players miss a lot of classes.

 

Players that were stars, or "the man", in high school may have to adjust to being a role player in college.

 

College coaches have absolute power for the most part. High school coaches have to jump through hoops with school administration and may have to deal with parents. Parents generally have no standing with a college coach.

[sgt.pepper]

Some really good points here!!! Good to hear some genuine opinions from people who seem to know what they are talking about.