Expected Impact of BBCOR Bats on HS Baseball

[sportsnutdad]

I would like to see a discussion of everyone thinks the new bats will impact the various areas of the game, and some teams more than others. For example, David Lipscomb (reigning Class AA State Champions), has always made a practice of generating runs utilizing bunting, hit-and-run, smart and agressive base running, etc.. I think DL as a team will be impacted less than some other teams, who have relied on "the long ball". Thoughts? Opinions?

Edited December 5, 2011 by sportsnutdad

[ThePunisher]

Based on what I saw last year at the D2 college level, it will change the game drastically. Depending on the field size, only strong hitters will be able to hit HRs, and they will have to catch it pretty pure to get it out of a field of any size. The HRs will drop by at least half. Small ball will become much more important than in the past.

 

The defensive side will be affected as well, because the teams with good outfielders will have a big advantage. The outfielders will have to play in to try and stop all the garbage hits from falling, so the ability to go back on a ball and run it down will be much more important.

 

They are pretty much like wooden bats. Only balls struck on the sweet spot have any juice, and the rest go nowhere.

[catsbackr]

IMHO, it will become baseball again.

 

Pitching and defense and the ability to move runners up (bunting) will take on much more importance.

 

The only thing better would have been to go back to wood bats.

[sportsnutdad]

IMHO, it will become baseball again.

 

Pitching and defense and the ability to move runners up (bunting) will take on much more importance.

 

The only thing better would have been to go back to wood bats.

I agree, that it's back to where it should be. It will still impact the game in many areas, but I don't believe most players have thought anything about it.

[riverdaleman]

IMHO, it will become baseball again.

 

Pitching and defense and the ability to move runners up (bunting) will take on much more importance.

 

The only thing better would have been to go back to wood bats.

my son who is playing in college said he would prefer to use wood...his teammates and him are not fans of the new bats

[catsbackr]

Teams with good fundamentals, defense, pitching, bunting, stealing, will thrive.

 

If the games are anything like the college games were last season, it will be much better baseball.

[SHS1]

Bring back the lumber. A good AK 33(Al Kaline)won't hurt anyone.

[davidlimbaugh]

Some numbers from the NCAA: http://www.ncaa.org/wps/wcm/connect/public/NCAA/Resources/Latest+News/2011/April/Baseballs+power+surge+drops+after+introduction+of+new+bats at the half-way point and then the rest of the story, http://www.ncaa.org/wps/wcm/connect/public/NCAA/Resources/Latest+News/2011/July/New+bats+are+a+hit,+for+some

Edited December 29, 2011 by davidlimbaugh

[strongx]

It should mean more pitchers can come back inside again. The past few years, only the kids that threw it really hard would dare throw an inside fastball. Who knows, we may even see some batters choking up again!

[govols10]

The new bat rule is way overdue - IMHO. It will speed up the games and make it much more like real baseball - pitching, defense, bunting, stealing, hit and run.

The concern is that I have already heard of some bats being "modified" by taking out the inside rings etc. that make them compliant. How will that be regulated?

[E5]

In high school baseball the teams with the best staffs and played the best defense have usually had the most success. This will not change. The trend I hear is that "small ball" will come "back." I am of the opinion that it has not gone that far away. Home runs will be down considerably and miss hit balls will travel less and the jam job bloopers will be down. In order to play "small ball," someone must first get on base. To me, teaching players to drive ball through or over infielders is going to be the biggest change. For decades, swinging to hit the top of the ball to produce ground balls will be more futile with the less responsive bats. Several studies have shown that close to 80 percent of all at bats are classified as "normal" at bats. In that, there is no cause for "small ball." The key to me is having players develop swings that produce longer groundballs, balls that hit in the dirt or beyond, and balls that are driven over the infield defenders. At some point the first guy has to get on.

[E5]

The new bat rule is way overdue - IMHO. It will speed up the games and make it much more like real baseball - pitching, defense, bunting, stealing, hit and run.

The concern is that I have already heard of some bats being "modified" by taking out the inside rings etc. that make them compliant. How will that be regulated?

 

I don't think that can be regulated which is sad. There are companies you can find on the internet who will make the inner walls thinner to make bats more responsive already. I have witnessed a college game where a team was thought to have done this and the results were noticeable. The answer is to go back to wood and have an X-ray machine on site to check for corked bats. I have done some research and am woking on perfecting that ala Norm Cash in 1961.