The Great Bat Debate
As the College World Series approaches, it's the perfect time to bring up one of the few things that should change about the game of baseball...the bats players use. As of now, kids playing Little League through college use metal bats. I think this started sometime in the 70's, although if someone knows for sure, feel free to leave a comment correcting me.
I can see how it could have made some sense at the time. For the younger players, metal bats were a way to make the game more enjoyable; that includes the players and the fans. If it isn't bad enough watching a game today where the ball never leaves the infield, imagine the same game with a wooden bat. And for the older, college age players, metal bats were most likely a financial decision. If you get jammed or hit one off the end, it won't break. With most wood bats selling for around $35, metal bats could provide relief for some already stretched budgets.
As for the Little Leaguers, let them keep the metal bats. The 15-differential (for example, 32 inches, 17 ounces) or whatever they have is fine for that age. But at some point that has to change. I think high school is the perfect time. Let kids use aluminum bats through 8th grade, but then it's wood.
The financial argument no longer applies. Composite bats won't break and they imitate real wood with the sound it makes and how fast the ball jumps off the bat. The excitement argument doesn't apply at that age. Eighteen-year-old kids can hit the ball out of the park with wood bats and plenty of runs will still be scored. In high school, kids should use wood.
And college? The use of metal bats in college is the most ridiculous thing I can imagine. If you ever play third base when the clean-up hitter for Texas steps to the plate, you'll agree with me. Athletes these days could kill a person with a line drive, and since they run 6.5 second 60 yard dashes, you have to respect the bunt and play up. Metal bats have no place in that equation.
The College World Series has also been a perfect example of why the NCAA should change to wood or composite. There are far too many home runs. Granted, things have calmed some from the -5 days (up until 2000, college players could use bats with a differential of 5, such as 33 inches, 28 ounces. Now it's -3). But games still routinely take three hours to play and have double-digit scoring. At that level of play, there is no reason to use anything but wood or composite.
If metal bats still have a place in the game, it's only in the hands of a young child. Someone needs to start the change. Why not the Minnesota State High School League?
I can see how it could have made some sense at the time. For the younger players, metal bats were a way to make the game more enjoyable; that includes the players and the fans. If it isn't bad enough watching a game today where the ball never leaves the infield, imagine the same game with a wooden bat. And for the older, college age players, metal bats were most likely a financial decision. If you get jammed or hit one off the end, it won't break. With most wood bats selling for around $35, metal bats could provide relief for some already stretched budgets.
As for the Little Leaguers, let them keep the metal bats. The 15-differential (for example, 32 inches, 17 ounces) or whatever they have is fine for that age. But at some point that has to change. I think high school is the perfect time. Let kids use aluminum bats through 8th grade, but then it's wood.
The financial argument no longer applies. Composite bats won't break and they imitate real wood with the sound it makes and how fast the ball jumps off the bat. The excitement argument doesn't apply at that age. Eighteen-year-old kids can hit the ball out of the park with wood bats and plenty of runs will still be scored. In high school, kids should use wood.
And college? The use of metal bats in college is the most ridiculous thing I can imagine. If you ever play third base when the clean-up hitter for Texas steps to the plate, you'll agree with me. Athletes these days could kill a person with a line drive, and since they run 6.5 second 60 yard dashes, you have to respect the bunt and play up. Metal bats have no place in that equation.
The College World Series has also been a perfect example of why the NCAA should change to wood or composite. There are far too many home runs. Granted, things have calmed some from the -5 days (up until 2000, college players could use bats with a differential of 5, such as 33 inches, 28 ounces. Now it's -3). But games still routinely take three hours to play and have double-digit scoring. At that level of play, there is no reason to use anything but wood or composite.
If metal bats still have a place in the game, it's only in the hands of a young child. Someone needs to start the change. Why not the Minnesota State High School League?
posted by Joe Siple | 1:17 PM
2 Comments:
Well said. Quit moving fences back and constantly changing the rules for the weight differential in the bats. The best decision the Minnesota Baseball Association (MBA) made for amateur baseball was switching to wood. Game times have been shortened, it's safer, sounds better, and strategy comes into play a lot more. When the MBA made that decision a lot of teams were complaining about the supposed financial implications and also the reduction of home runs. I haven't heard one team complain after they started playing with them. Composite bats are the way to go for high school, Legion, and college. You can get composite bats for about $75 and they'll last you a whole season at the least. They don't "lose their pop" like aluminum and they don't cost as much. 130-pound high school kids shouldn't be able to hit home runs anyway. Aluminum bats create bad habits and make average hitters look great. Baseball with aluminum bats is a silly game, almost like slow-pitch softball. Baseball with wood bats is the way it's supposed to be played.
Andrew Johnson
Safety is an issue. I'm originally from Montana and have followed the debate there with a legion team. It's quite interesting. A Miles City, Montana, legion pitcher, Brandon Patch, died in 2003 after being hit in the head by a line drive off an aluminum bat. Since Patch's death on July 26, 2003, the Miles City legion team has refused to use aluminum bats in their games and even provided wooden bats for their opponents. They've gone to the legislature to get rules changed, although that hasn't happened. Here's a story from Patch's family's trek to the Montana Legislature earlier this year:
http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?ts=1&display=rednews/2005/02/18/build/state/25-bats.inc
Mike Dougherty
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