Bats and Safety

[CoachB25]

My DD just attended a college camp and so, the discussion there was about one girl not having her bat since her Uncle was "fixing it." Made me real mad because my daughter is a pitcher. I also belong to a couple of private sites and ironically, the discussion there today is "Hot Bats" and the deadline coming up for composites. I don't know what the baseball world is changing and perhaps since they are -3 already, they will stand pat for a while. However, I would mention that my DD was hit twice this year in the face by line drives and so, now, we have a mask. It angers me that people would roll their bats to make them "hot" in lieu of the video link I'm going to provide. My DD is #9 and was 14 years old pitching varsity when this occurred. Watch the video. At the end, you will see #20 take a pitch and then listen as you watch her next swing. You will hear the sound of the ball on the bat and the next sound you hear is my daughter's face.

http://varsity.thetelegraph.com/video/uservideo/index.php?bcpid=1184614602&bclid=1184402477&bctid=1554446292

Jake, this is softball footage and so, if you decide you don't want that here, please feel free to take it down. Again, I'm steaming that someone would openly brag about getting their daughter's bat "fixed." My dd is supposed to start tonight against an extremely good team. I am worried sick every time she takes the circle since I know she can be seriously hurt. Oh, it isn't like she doesn't do well pitching. In HS, she was 11-0 and currently during the summer she is 7-0 and has given up 5 runs this year. In the video provided, she threw a 3 hit shutout to win the conference. That team was 18-7 on the season. Comments?

[Jake Patterson]

Coach, No problem...

One question... Why do they wear shorts and not pants? There just never seemed to be a reasonable reason for the shorts, especially when sliding.

[Jake Patterson]

The bat issue is very real, especially in softball where you have companies overtly offering turning and spinning equipment whose sole purpose is only to increase the performance of the bat. Not certain how the game can feel this is acceptable..

[TG Coach]

Coach, No problem...

One question... Why do they wear shorts and not pants? There just never seemed to be a reasonable reason for the shorts, especially when sliding.

The girls wear "sliders." It protects the legs. They push them down when they're in the field. There's a move away from shorts. College teams are moving to pants. 18U/G teams tend to be wearing pants.

[3and0]

The bat issue is very real, especially in softball where you have companies overtly offering turning and spinning equipment whose sole purpose is only to increase the performance of the bat. Not certain how the game can feel this is acceptable..
What does "turning" a bat do?

[Jake Patterson]

What does "turning" a bat do?Reduces the thickness of the outer skin of the bat making it more elastic thus increasing the trampoline effect.

At a D-rays game several weeks back they had softball players hitting balls in the upper decks. They don't do this with non souped-up bats or wood bats.

Here's a clips of the Long Haul Bombers.

[CoachB25]

Not to give anyone ideas but some "roll" the bat in rolling presses that put a measured amount of pressure on the bat. The bat is then forced back and forth to "break it in" faster. As many of you know, they say that these composites need a few hundred hits with them to begin the process of breaking in. Thus all of these companies offering this service. Of course, these bats, in theory, will wear out faster as well. We purchased a new bat for my daughter right before the HS season started with the idea she'd have a long time to break it in. Then, her coach heard a sound he didn't like and asked us to get rid of her old bat. Well, in with the new. It still doesn't seem to have the explosiveness of the old bat but then again, maybe it's the Indian and not the arrow. :lookitup:waving

[3and0]

Reduces the thickness of the outer skin of the bat making it more elastic thus increasing the trampoline effect.

At a D-rays game several weeks back they had softball players hitting balls in the upper decks. They don't do this with non souped-up bats or wood bats.

Here's a clips of the Long Haul Bombers.

and could this potentially be done in college/hs baseball as well

[Ursa Major]

Does high school softball have a regulated BESR rating like high school baseball does? If so, it would seem that any alteration to the bat that would affect the rating should be illegal and treated at least as severely as use of PED (performance enhancing drugs), particularly because it's a safety issue.

I guess it'll never happen, but I think that the mound is much too close to the plate both for safety reasons and given the supercharged pitchers of today. The college softball world series seems to have a no hitter every other day, and the swings on most of the hitters are either slaps or punches.

[ralanprod]

From watching the college world series when it was on recently, I have come to the conclusion that these girls probably should be on a bigger field.

These are full grown women (there are some big girls out there) playing on the same sized field my 9 year old is playing on. By the time the pitcher releases the ball, how far is she from the plate? Maybe 38 feet?

I realize that most high school players are going to be a little smaller, but if I'm not mistaken, the HS rubber is even closer. I don't blame your daughter for wearing a mask one bit. Hell, if it were my daughter it would look like there were two catchers out there.

While I can't condone rolling bats, I think at least as far as the pitcher is concerned the difference in exit speeds from a rolled to a non-rolled bat may not make much of a difference given the short travel distance. Possibly somebody far better at math than myself could calculate that. Regardless, I still see "rolling" as "cheating".

[Jake Patterson]

and could this potentially be done in college/hs baseball as wellI guess anything is possible. There are always stories of players altering their bats... MORE IMPORTANT... Is that new metal bats achieve higher performance all by themselves over time. Studies have shown that as a bat gains experience the trampoline effect increases. This has become a bone of contention for many anti-metal bat advocates.

[ralanprod]

"I think at least as far as the pitcher is concerned the difference in exit speeds from a rolled to a non-rolled bat may not make much of a difference given the short travel distance."

I dis-agree. When a ball is hit or pitched right towards you, it's very difficult to read even slight differences in MPH. We all know that. It's why the change-up is such an effective pitch.

....

All of this is common sense, which is in short supply when countered by lobbying from a 300 million dollar a year industry.



I fail to see where I'm supposed to be coming down in support of one type of bat or another.

I make a simple statement that I think regardless of what bat is being used having essentialy adult women less than 40 feet away when the ball is hit is dangerous and somehow this becomes another metal bat debate.

I don't know what the difference in exit speed is from a "rolled" bat vs a non-rolled bat. It doesn't matter to me what bat is being used. All I know is from less than 40 feet away the pitcher is a sitting duck if a ball comes back at her on a line. Wearing a mask makes plenty of sense to me at that distance.

If you believe this is a safe distance if they are using wood bats, okay - I still disagree.

[Jesse]

I never understood why women don't play baseball. Two of the most common complaints I hear is "the field's too small" and "the big ball is harder to throw". Baseball solves both problems. What's the rationale behind this? Is it just tradition?

[TG Coach]

Does high school softball have a regulated BESR rating like high school baseball does? If so, it would seem that any alteration to the bat that would affect the rating should be illegal and treated at least as severely as use of PED (performance enhancing drugs), particularly because it's a safety issue.

I guess it'll never happen, but I think that the mound is much too close to the plate both for safety reasons and given the supercharged pitchers of today. The college softball world series seems to have a no hitter every other day, and the swings on most of the hitters are either slaps or punches.

Usually high school softball uses some varsiation of ASA rules. ASA is the top travel organization. ASA doesn't just have a standard. They will list banned bats. The problem is "turning" is hard to detect.

My daughter's high school teammate pitcher had so many no-hitters through travel and ASA, when a teammate misplayed a ball into a hit in the 7th inning the pitcher replied, "Don't worry about it. It's not like it was a perfect game. I've pitched enough no-hitters."

[TG Coach]

From watching the college world series when it was on recently, I have come to the conclusion that these girls probably should be on a bigger field.

These are full grown women (there are some big girls out there) playing on the same sized field my 9 year old is playing on. By the time the pitcher releases the ball, how far is she from the plate? Maybe 38 feet?

I realize that most high school players are going to be a little smaller, but if I'm not mistaken, the HS rubber is even closer. I don't blame your daughter for wearing a mask one bit. Hell, if it were my daughter it would look like there were two catchers out there.

While I can't condone rolling bats, I think at least as far as the pitcher is concerned the difference in exit speeds from a rolled to a non-rolled bat may not make much of a difference given the short travel distance. Possibly somebody far better at math than myself could calculate that. Regardless, I still see "rolling" as "cheating".


The college rubber is 43 feet. ASA 18U/G is 43 feet. High school in many states is 40 feet. State high school associations are starting to move to 43 feet.

My daughter was converted from a shortstop to an outfielder at high school age. When she had to play short one game she commented, "I forgot how close the infielders are to the hitters." That's from short.

[Ursa Major]

A little off topic, but one of the things that pains me about softball sized fields is that every ground ball is a bang-bang play, so -- instead of having the elegance of a fielder scooping up a ball, taking a crow hop and smoothly firing a throw across the diamond -- you get each play being a race to get the ball out of the fielder's glove and flipped to first base. It's sort of the equivalent of a second baseman in baseball fielding a high chopper and zipping it to first as soon as it reaches his glove, which rarely can be done with much grace.

[3and0]

I guess anything is possible. There are always stories of players altering their bats... MORE IMPORTANT... Is that new metal bats achieve higher performance all by themselves over time. Studies have shown that as a bat gains experience the trampoline effect increases. This has become a bone of contention for many anti-metal bat advocates.

Brutal, I've already taken a regular metal bat comebacker straight to the kidney.