Sports Science say NCAA HR's are down 57% since 2010

[ShotgunDawg]

It's frustrating as **** to watch a guy the size of Grizzly Rea square up a ball, I mean absolutely murder it, and have it wind up dying 5 feet shy of the warning track. The pitchers have such a huge advantage now, it's ridiculous. I also agree that I don't see the new seams helping all that much.

That has more to do with Rea having slider bat speed. Honestly, if a high school can really hit, he will get drafted in the top 4 rounds and go pro.

[PassInterference]

Do what?

As is, the only "mandate" for new balls is in the postseason next year. The NCAA opened the door to conferences to adopt it for game 1 next year -- which I'm sure the SEC will do...

Overall production will be similar to year 2 of the -3's, when the NCAA closed the loopholes allowing the manufacturers to add the weight to get to -3 at the base of the handle of the bat giving better bat speed to overcome the limitations...

Ohhh...didn't realize that hadn't started.

Well that's dumb as shit. Hey, let's put in a new regulation but don't start it until the post season where nobody is ready for it and it can be a maximum grade **** up.

Sounds like TV money gave the NCAA an ultimatum.

[engie]

Ohhh...didn't realize that hadn't started.

Well that's dumb as shit. Hey, let's put in a new regulation but don't start it until the post season where nobody is ready for it and it can be a maximum grade **** up.

Sounds like TV money gave the NCAA an ultimatum.

I think it has more to do with easing into the new balls -- given that 99% of programs lose money on baseball period -- and baseballs, themselves, are one of their primary overall expenses to those programs. I forget how many dozen the average team goes through in a given year. By the time this mandate passed, most programs had already ordered them for the year -- and would require coming up with thousands of dollars to "replace" them.

So, the NCAA gave them an advance warning of the changing policy basically as a monetary issue...

[Todd4State]

I think it has more to do with easing into the new balls -- given that 99% of programs lose money on baseball period -- and baseballs, themselves, are one of their primary overall expenses to those programs. I forget how many dozen the average team goes through in a given year. By the time this mandate passed, most programs had already ordered them for the year -- and would require coming up with thousands of dollars to "replace" them.

So, the NCAA gave them an advance warning of the changing policy basically as a monetary issue...

That may be true, but there is also no doubt that ESPN wants to see some home runs in Omaha and in the SR's when they actually televise college baseball. So, hey! Let's all of a sudden change the ball!

[engie]

That may be true, but there is also no doubt that ESPN wants to see some home runs in Omaha and in the SR's when they actually televise college baseball. So, hey! Let's all of a sudden change the ball!

If that was purely the case, wouldn't they have changed them for this postseason?

Of course ESPN wants some degree of offense back in the game. Everybody does...

[Jack Lambert]

The question is are the injuries down. If not then the new bats were just horse shit.

[M.Fillmore]

Here is the conundrum that I don't know how can be addressed. Rosenblatt had the wind blowing out and combined with Gorilla Ball you saw a CWS final where USC won 21-14. Omaha then builds TD Ameritrade where the wind blows in, combined with the deadened bats we saw much fewer (like 2 or 3) home runs in the entire CWS last year. So with wind and bats, the CWS looks to be small ball from now forward.

Feel free to critique.

[smootness]

Here is the conundrum that I don't know how can be addressed. Rosenblatt had the wind blowing out and combined with Gorilla Ball you saw a CWS final where USC won 21-14. Omaha then builds TD Ameritrade where the wind blows in, combined with the deadened bats we saw much fewer (like 2 or 3) home runs in the entire CWS last year. So with wind and bats, the CWS looks to be small ball from now forward.

Feel free to critique.

I agree, the CWS was more about the orientation of that park and less about the bats. Changing the bats will help some, but I still don't see much going out there. They definitely screwed up with the way they built that park. Kris Bryant hit 30 HRs last year, you can still get it out; but Omaha played differently than just about every park in the country last year.

[engie]

I agree, the CWS was more about the orientation of that park and less about the bats. Changing the bats will help some, but I still don't see much going out there. They definitely screwed up with the way they built that park. Kris Bryant hit 30 HRs last year, you can still get it out; but Omaha played differently than just about every park in the country last year.

There would have been no fewer than 12-15 homeruns in Omaha last year with the new baseballs... Maybe more...

[State82]

There would have been no fewer than 12-15 homeruns in Omaha last year with the new baseballs... Maybe more...

I know one that would have gone that would have broken all our hearts.

[engie]

I know one that would have gone that would have broken all our hearts.

Only after we hit 2 bombs ourselves early in that game...

[State82]

Only after we hit 2 bombs ourselves early in that game...

Yeah I couldn't remember if we had hit any earlier that should have gone.

[engie]

Yeah I couldn't remember if we had hit any earlier that should have gone.

Yeah, there were a couple. I want to say our lead would have been one more run had they all gone out... But I definitely get your point...

I think the "big yard, play small ball" is an advantage for us. Cohen has built us to that. But it just isn't baseball when you can square one up perfectly, crush it, and it be a routine out at the track...

[starkvegasdawg]

Don't know if it is the bats, our lack of power, or both but I was able to go to a couple of the Vandy games and an Arkansas game and one thing I noticed were our hitters couldn't even get the ball to the wall on line drives. It would hit in the outfield and just stop after a couple more bounces. Even ones to the outfielders you could tell they didn't have the pop to roll to the wall. This is costing us doubles too and not just home runs because we can't split the gap and put one to the base of the wall.

[engie]

Don't know if it is the bats, our lack of power, or both but I was able to go to a couple of the Vandy games and an Arkansas game and one thing I noticed were our hitters couldn't even get the ball to the wall on line drives. It would hit in the outfield and just stop after a couple more bounces. Even ones to the outfielders you could tell they didn't have the pop to roll to the wall. This is costing us doubles too and not just home runs because we can't split the gap and put one to the base of the wall.

That's why there's a movement for a harder core on the baseballs as well with the seams... The overall effects are that they just die currently... It's damn near impossible to put one in the gap hard enough to get it to the wall...

[Dawg61]

Go to the MLB ball and MLB wood bats. So much money is involved from both the MLB teams and the Universities themselves currently and the way the bats are right now it is hurting their product. We have players getting drafted in the 1st round signing million dollar contracts and are about to build a what $60 million dollar stadium. The players are almost pro already. Time to let them play with pro bats and pro balls.

[KB21]

That has more to do with Rea having slider bat speed. Honestly, if a high school can really hit, he will get drafted in the top 4 rounds and go pro.

This.

It is also why you would previously see guys in the SEC hit for a lot of power in college and then never get above high A ball in the pros. Someone like Josh Morris from Georgia for example.

The key to power is generating bat speed. You put one of these BBCOR bats in Jason Heyward's hands, he's still going to launch some rockets over the walls because he generates tremendous bat speed. In the past, the trampoline effect of the bats helped guys who have slider bat speed hit more home runs than they would typically.

Personaly, I would love to see college go to wood bats.

[smootness]

There would have been no fewer than 12-15 homeruns in Omaha last year with the new baseballs... Maybe more...

I seriously doubt this.

[engie]

I seriously doubt this.

You seriously didn't watch the games then.

We would have had 5-6 ourselves.