Expected Impact of BBCOR Bats on HS Baseball

[Solo-mon 2]

I agree that they made too big of a jump. I am "Old School" for hit and run, squeeze plays, bunting to move runners, fielders being able to make plays....BUT one has to realize that these players are used to hitting for high averages, lots of home runs, lots of gap shots.... Anyone that has played the game knows that there is a large mental part of the game. If you go to the plate thinking you are going to struggle to get a hit...you probably will not get a hit. If you think the bat you are swinging is "dead", you are not as confident & it will show. The averages will drop, it happened already in college ball, it could be worse on the high school level. The High School coaches are going to have to recognize & see this to try to help players cope with a .250 to .300 average when they are used to .400. Slumps happen to everyone, there could be many more this year with players struggling.

 

Last year, I saw the difference in the first games my son played...the team they played had already played 10 games, their outfield played shallow and their pitchers grooved a lot of pitches to let them see just how far they could hit it. On the other hand his team played normal and the pitchers nibbled at the corners. It was not pretty. They were beat pretty soundly. Speed of the outfield will play a big part of the games. The sound of the bats are different also. Teams that adjust early will have an upper hand.

[tradertwo]

I agree that they made too big of a jump. I am "Old School" for hit and run, squeeze plays, bunting to move runners, fielders being able to make plays....BUT one has to realize that these players are used to hitting for high averages, lots of home runs, lots of gap shots.... Anyone that has played the game knows that there is a large mental part of the game. If you go to the plate thinking you are going to struggle to get a hit...you probably will not get a hit. If you think the bat you are swinging is "dead", you are not as confident & it will show. The averages will drop, it happened already in college ball, it could be worse on the high school level. The High School coaches are going to have to recognize & see this to try to help players cope with a .250 to .300 average when they are used to .400. Slumps happen to everyone, there could be many more this year with players struggling.

 

Last year, I saw the difference in the first games my son played...the team they played had already played 10 games, their outfield played shallow and their pitchers grooved a lot of pitches to let them see just how far they could hit it. On the other hand his team played normal and the pitchers nibbled at the corners. It was not pretty. They were beat pretty soundly. Speed of the outfield will play a big part of the games. The sound of the bats are different also. Teams that adjust early will have an upper hand.

All valid points,but the playing field is level and the cream will still rise.Overall the rule will generate better ballplayers(especially infielders).With more emphisis on run suppression,and less worry about"the big inning"costing games,fielding percentages could have more bearing on games outcomes than in the recent past,as they should IMO.Coaches will adjust depth of infielders and players will adjust to the balls velocity off the bat,and hitting for average will be tougher without a doubt,but good sound hitting will become even more important...how can that be bad for the game?Pitching will always be the first line of defense,and a swing and miss will still be a strike.The difference will be that a "good" pitch being hit out,or bounced off the fence will be more batter skill than a chance swing and a juiced up bat.To address hitting averages dropping to below .400,that just aligns the game at this level to the advanced levels of preformance,most good pro and college level players hit for between .280 to .325 averages and .400 is nirvana!

Edited January 10, 2012 by tradertwo

[Soxfan1]

My son feels like the sweet spot on the BBCOR bats is bigger than on the old bats. Not necessarily as much pop as the old bats but he hits better with the new one.

[HSbaseballguru]

My son feels like the sweet spot on the BBCOR bats is bigger than on the old bats. Not necessarily as much pop as the old bats but he hits better with the new one.

As long as he feels like it is then that is all that matters. He is wrong, but don't tell him. Gotta love the mental side of hitting.

[ksgovols]

I think it's high time. Want more home runs, bring your outfield fences in instead of the MLB dimensions some of these fields have to accommodate the pop. High school fields used to not be 375' in center. An emphasis on pitching and defense can't be a bad thing. Pitchers get the inside part of the plate back and can throw ground balls to get out of an inning. Hitters earn their way on base and the cheap hits are taken out of the equation. Learn to bunt and go oppo. From a safety standpoint it was necessary and from a baseball standpoint, it brings things back to their natural balance in my opinion.

[bbgocats]

I think it's high time. Want more home runs, bring your outfield fences in instead of the MLB dimensions some of these fields have to accommodate the pop. High school fields used to not be 375' in center. An emphasis on pitching and defense can't be a bad thing. Pitchers get the inside part of the plate back and can throw ground balls to get out of an inning. Hitters earn their way on base and the cheap hits are taken out of the equation. Learn to bunt and go oppo. From a safety standpoint it was necessary and from a baseball standpoint, it brings things back to their natural balance in my opinion.

 

I wish they would go to all wood bats. Games would become more interesting as hitters would learn to actually hit and not just fling a bat and hit for average just because they made contact. Pitchers duals would increase as well... sounds like an idea!

[RespectTheGame]

As long as he feels like it is then that is all that matters. He is wrong, but don't tell him. Gotta love the mental side of hitting.

I think you hit the nail on the head right there. I know I will probably be the minority on this one, but I think the bats won't make THAT BIG of a difference. Being a recent graduate of high school, I have swung both a BBCOR (Rawlings 5150) and BESR (DeMarini Voodoo) bats and can tell you that bottom line, when my swing mechanics were correct, and I was focused in the batter's box, it didn't matter one way or the other. I actually had both bats one summer during travel ball and used the 5150 over the voodoo just because I was on a hot streak with it. Its like everyone says, the game is 90% mental, 10% physical.

[Hardball1703]

I think you hit the nail on the head right there. I know I will probably be the minority on this one, but I think the bats won't make THAT BIG of a difference. Being a recent graduate of high school, I have swung both a BBCOR (Rawlings 5150) and BESR (DeMarini Voodoo) bats and can tell you that bottom line, when my swing mechanics were correct, and I was focused in the batter's box, it didn't matter one way or the other. I actually had both bats one summer during travel ball and used the 5150 over the voodoo just because I was on a hot streak with it. Its like everyone says, the game is 90% mental, 10% physical.

I agree. I also just recently graduated from high school and thought going into college I wouldn't be able to hit the ball hard anymore. But that's not tge case. There is a difference but if you just hit the ball on the mouth which every good hitter should be able to do then the ball will come off the bat just as hard. It will be a little different though for high schoolers since they aren't as strong as college players. It will show who can hit and who cant

[TSSAABaseball24]

it will be used as an EXCUSE for most teams that don't hit as well. The teams who do and always have spent time in the cage will hit as well as they always do. Outfielders will be hurt more than hitters. The ball is so much harder to judge of these bats. A good swing will hit the fence, anything else will be in front of them, so they move them up and the good teams will smash the wall with balls that would normally be caught. Definitely going to change outfield play this year.

[catsbackr]

it will be used as an EXCUSE for most teams that don't hit as well. The teams who do and always have spent time in the cage will hit as well as they always do. Outfielders will be hurt more than hitters. The ball is so much harder to judge of these bats. A good swing will hit the fence, anything else will be in front of them, so they move them up and the good teams will smash the wall with balls that would normally be caught. Definitely going to change outfield play this year.

Your living in a fool's paradise if you think the power numbers for ANY team will be the same as they were last year. No way.

 

Do some research and look at ANY college's power numbers the year they switched from BESR to BBCOR. It's just plain facts.

Edited February 25, 2012 by catsbackr

[Soxfan1]

Your living in a fool's paradise if you think the power numbers for ANY team will be the same as they were last year. No way.

 

Do some research and look at ANY college's power numbers the year they switched from BESR to BBCOR. It's just plain facts.

I have attended several showcases and HS pracitces since the new bats came out. There are almost no homeruns. At Radford, there were 30 really good players, big, fast, strong...no HR's. You see balls hit that would havebeen out last year that are just deep fly balls now.

[redkuda]

I think it's high time. Want more home runs, bring your outfield fences in instead of the MLB dimensions some of these fields have to accommodate the pop. High school fields used to not be 375' in center. An emphasis on pitching and defense can't be a bad thing. Pitchers get the inside part of the plate back and can throw ground balls to get out of an inning. Hitters earn their way on base and the cheap hits are taken out of the equation. Learn to bunt and go oppo. From a safety standpoint it was necessary and from a baseball standpoint, it brings things back to their natural balance in my opinion.

 

 

I was thinking the same thing. High Schools may have to pull the fences in 20 feet. In all seriousness though. The one thing I hate to see is those nice 20 foot high line drives that used to get over the outfielder to the wall for doubles and triples will lose steam and instead of the outfielder having to chase the ball, he'll be able to camp and that takes away a lot. Hitting in the gap will also be effected somewhat if theres any arch on the ball any outfielder with decent speed will be able to run it down. I love good defense and some small ball but I hate to see the loss of free swinging to some degree. I don't think it'll change infield play that much except that infielders will be playing another step or two off the bag than in the past. Pitchers that were average will have decreases in ERA's which can be misleading, SO's shouldn't change though. Good pitchers will still be good pitchers. I don't think it'll have too big an impact on true BIG power hitters, their homeruns will just be 380' instead of 420' and their HR numbers will drop some. If they play at the next level they'll become bigger and stronger anyway. It will have an impact on those hitters that were hitting 10 HR's that were clearing the fence by 5 or 10 feet. I do think it'll cut down on pitchers being injured on those straight back liners which is the best thing about it.

Edited March 2, 2012 by redkuda