• The KillerFrogs

Hey, what's up with the new bats?

Stiff Arm Frog

Stiff Arm Frog

Active Member
At Saturday's game someone was complaining about how college's new bats don't sound as clean as the old ones. I was noticing the same thing, there's not that metal clang when it makes contact with the ball.

I guess this was a decision the NCAA made in the off-season? What are the new bats made out of?
 
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MTfrog5

Active Member
They are called BBCOR bats I think. It pretty much keeps the ball from coming off the bat as fast to try and help out the saftey of the players. A lot of people I know would rather hit with wood, but they are too expensive to replace. All homeruns will be legitimate homeruns this year.
 
wes

wes

KIllerfrog Emeritus
The old bats were upwards of 20% more efficient than wooden bats but the NCAA has mandated that they can only be 3% more efficient than the wooden versions.
 
M

MTfrog5

Active Member
I have looked it up before but like Wes said, it went right over me. A difference besides what the bat is made from is how the bat weight is distributed. Every one I have seen is very top heavy which I never really liked
 
zfrawg

zfrawg

Active Member
Stiff Arm Frog said:
At Saturday's game someone was complaining about how college's new bats don't sound as clean as the old ones. I was noticing the same thing, there's not that metal clang when it makes contact with the ball.

I guess this was a decision the NCAA made in the off-season? What are the new bats made out of?
Click to expand...

I love the new bats and think it is great for the game. I grew up on aluminum bats but have always hated the ping of the bat, so I enjoy the quiet thud.
 
Deep Purple

Deep Purple

Full Member
Stiff Arm Frog said:
Does anyone know what they do differently to the aluminum to make it less efficient?
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They're called composite bats. The exterior is still aluminum, but the interior surface is lined with woven graphite. This makes them feel more like wooden bats in performance, but still with some of the livelier action produced by aluminum bats. There are also a few other advantages:

  • By shifting the volume of graphite lining closer to or away from the bat handle, manufacturers can produce a more customized swing weight, which is how the bat feels to the batter as he swings it. More graphite towards the bat handle lowers the bat's center of mass, producing a lighter swing weight. More graphite away from the bat handle raises the center of mass and increases the swing weight. This means two bats of identical real weight can have highly different swing weights. It allows each batter to select a bat that is virtually customized to his particular swing.
  • Composite bats are stronger longitudinally but "softer" around the barrel circumference, which increases the trampoline effect when the ball "jumps" off the bat. This is one reason they outperform aluminum bats. The ball loses less energy in collision with the bat, giving it a livelier reaction off the bat surface. (Think of how much more "bounce" you get from a highly elastic trampoline than from a taut trampoline with less elasticity.)
  • When an aluminum bat contacts the ball in any location other than the sweet spot, the resulting vibration is transmitted right up the handle, producing a sting in the batter's hands. Because composite bats are both "softer" and better dampened, they do not transmit hand sting from an imperfect hit.
 
P

PO Frog

Active Member
It's lame and the pendulum has swung too far. I like that there is a difference in the college and pro game. Now the only difference is the talent level, and that makes it less exciting to me. Not saying we need to go back to gorilla ball, but this change was too much IMO.
 
K

KingmanIII

New Member
Apparently JMU didn't get the memo:
http://www.d1basebal...ls/jamesmad.htm

91 runs and 23 homers in 4 games?
thud.gif
 
K

KingmanIII

New Member
cdsfrog said:
FCS against a horrible fcs team. basically highschool quality
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Even then...it seems the scores across the board aren't dropping dramatically -- just the home run totals.

http://www.d1baseball.com/2011/schedules/0218.htm
http://www.d1baseball.com/2011/schedules/0219.htm
http://www.d1baseball.com/2011/schedules/0220.htm
 
boonecountyman

boonecountyman

Active Member
WVU BBC Van Zant stated he did not think 20HR would be hit by anyone this year with new bats.A premium is being put on hitting the sweet spot for maxium results.
 
N

nick

Full Member
wes said:
The old bats were upwards of 20% more efficient than wooden bats but the NCAA has mandated that they can only be 3% more efficient than the wooden versions.
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Actually Wes the coaches said 11% more than wooden bats last year.
 
AEAfrog

AEAfrog

Active Member
PO Frog said:
It's lame and the pendulum has swung too far. I like that there is a difference in the college and pro game. Now the only difference is the talent level, and that makes it less exciting to me. Not saying we need to go back to gorilla ball, but this change was too much IMO.
Click to expand...

There is also a safety aspect to it. The ball would jump off the old bats so fast that it left pitchers little time to react if the ball was hit right at them. This change helps to reduce the risk of injury to the pitcher by reducing the power and, correspondingly, the speed of the ball as it comes off of the bat.
 
M

MTfrog5

Active Member
boonecountyman said:
WVU BBC Van Zant stated he did not think 20HR would be hit by anyone this year with new bats.A premium is being put on hitting the sweet spot for maxium results.
Click to expand...

I agree with what he said and I don't think any homerun records will ever be broken now. The old homeruns will turn to lineouts, flyouts, or doubles.
 

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