New high school bats for 2012 BBCOR

What are your thoughts on the new BBCOR bats for the 2012 High School season?

Top to bottom, ERA's in college are down a little over 1 run per nine and total runs scored are way down.
Every time I listen to a College game on tv, they are really knocking the bats saying all sorts of things like attendance is down because their are less runs being scored to their should be a change to the bats for next year.

 

Adjustment

Most college coaches I hear interviewed feel the change went too far. I'm curious if there are any statistics on numbers of injuries this year versus last year? If safety is truly the priority, that would be the measure that would tell the story. It seems like the college guys are still hitting balls out of the parks - and both teams use the approved bats. I love a good long ball, but like any change - teams and players simply have to adjust. There are tons of balls leaving the yard in HS this season - good hitters will still hit them next year, the average guys will not be so lucky.

OK, no wise cracks here, but I remember when "aluminum" bats first came out...best described as a galvanized fence post with a rubber sleeve for a grip (that lasted about two at-bats). Everyone on the team used the same (school provided) bat - and somehow we managed to have fun and enjoy the game.

As for me, I'm gonna enjoy the rest of this year! Too many worries to rush into another one right now.....

Is there an icon for "older than dirt?"

Interesting that two motivating factors behind the movement from wood to aluminum were economics and safety...I guess they never thought most kids would have two or three $400 bats in their own bag!

The rapid rise of aluminum bat usage was motivated by two issues of the day: economics and safety.

In that era of declining funding for non-revenue producing sports in high schools and colleges, cutting costs became paramount. One way to reduce expenses was to purchase a few heavy, thick-barreled, durable aluminum bats rather than the dozens of wood bats a typical baseball team would go through in a season. The reasoning was simple: The aluminum bats lasted longer, and a team needed fewer of them. Although the aluminum bats cost more per unit, the decreased number of bats purchased more than made up the difference in price.

There was also a concern among some that wood bats were dangerous products. A fastball, for example, hit on the handle or the flat of the grain (the weakest part of a wood bat) could result in the bat breaking. A jagged piece of a wood bat barrel hurtling through the air towards the pitcher was a sobering sight to many. Consequently, many who wanted to switch from wood to aluminum put the alleged safety factor forth.

(from baseball bat history reference)

 

Baylee? Have I ever told you how happy I am having you as a member? You sir, are a lot of fun....and informative. Now let me go and have another beverage before I say more nice things

 

Run fast!

Or I'll beat you to the beverage box! Looking forward to a fun week of baseball and banter! Thanks for the encouragement~

 

Besides what's already been mentioned, you will see a dramatic decrease in the amount of home runs hit overall, much like what's going on in college this year. Take a look at these 2 Division 2 conferences:

Peach Belt:
Homeruns-2010: 569
Homeruns-2011: 223
% Change: -61%

Conference Carolinas:
Homeruns-2010: 458
Homeruns-2011: 209
% Change: - 54%

 

Karl, thanks for the stats. Good quality pitching and defense will have to be be a coaches priority if it already isn't.

 

Am I alone?

My son and I were at a UNCC game a couple weeks ago and I couldn't help but think numerous times what the result would have been last year with the old bats. On one hit, that clearly would have have been a 2 run HR last year, the ball one hopped the right field fence, needed to be played off the wall by the right fielder, a cut-off needed to move to the correct position, a throw needed to hit the cut-off, communication needed to be made to the cut-off as to where to relay the ball, not to mentioned coaches signals needed to be picked up by 2 baserunners etc. etc.!

I like the changes...

 

Change for the better...

IMHO...The playing field just got a little more fair for the pitchers. I like the changes coming around. If you are going to hit it out, it's gotta be right there. No more off the handle with a check swing.
As the father of a pitcher, there is nothing worse than seeing that ball come off the bat right back at him. We hear of too many stories from around the country and a few from this area already where the pitcher is really defenseless only 55 feet away from the hitter and gets hit. That can still happen, but the trampoline effect has been taken down a notch.
You're still going to see HR's and life on the ball field will still go on.

 

Find reviews/comparrisons of new 2011 & 2012 BBCOR bats

Does anyone know of any reviews/comparrisons of new 2011 & 2012 BBCOR bats (-3) ?

 

I have heard Eastons are the better BBCOR bats. I don't know why all the coaches are crying over this. It is definitely a positive thing when now you can't get out front and still hit a ball out opposite field. The college I played for hit just as many homers this year as they did last year. I also saw a lot less instances where a ball was smoked at a corner infield with no time to react.