Metal vs.Wood Bats
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Metal Bats vs Wood - A Different Perspective
The use of aluminum bats in both high school and college must be stopped. I am a 16 year umpire for some D1, but mostly D2, D3, NAIA, JUCO, and High School. I also filled in briefly for the Midwest League of Pro. Baseball.
During the summer I work the Prospect Collegiate league which is all wood bat along with American Legion Wood bat tournaments.
While the focus of aluminum bats usually in in the danger to the fielder/pitcher, the real
danger is what has been overlooked. That is that the pitchers at all levels hardly ever pitch to contact (like Greg Maddux) but pitch to strike out a hitter or nibble on the corners. Why is this important to look at? It is important because if you study the increased injury to pitcher's arms and shoulders, I think you will find that the real danger is in the way a pitcher now pitches. The number of throws he has to make.
Not only does a pitcher throw many more balls, he throws harder (fewer change ups) and he throws many more breaking balls. Because of this, the arm injuries have exploded.
Go watch a JUCO or High School game. No one can pitch to contact. Even the OUTS are
not easy.
Look at the scores. I worked the CCIW college D3 conference. Go to their baseball web site and see the scores. -i.e. 15, 12, 17, 22, 16, 13, 11, and some of these were loosing scores. Look and see how the game is now a travesty. Little Johnny, 5'0 tall can hit one 375 feet on a non windy day. I see pitchers that throw in the low 90's in college. Makes no difference. They get hammered. Watch a D1 on TV. Same thing, high scores, long hits, long games. I work about 80 games a year of all levels.The game is horrible. The metal bat needs to go. It swings to easy, too balanced. Its barrel is too big. The pitchers have no chance.
Please feel free to contact me if you like. It is time that you survey the umpires around the country. They know the game. They know what is going on. I would bet that 98% would agree that metal bats are bad for the game, let along a kids brain. Most important, survey the college and high schools. My guess is that 99% of the pitchers want them gone, 98% of the hitters. Yes, just ask them, they tell me it is STUPID.
Author:
John Jaggi, Forsyth, IL
The use of aluminum bats in both high school and college must be stopped. I am a 16 year umpire for some D1, but mostly D2, D3, NAIA, JUCO, and High School. I also filled in briefly for the Midwest League of Pro. Baseball.
During the summer I work the Prospect Collegiate league which is all wood bat along with American Legion Wood bat tournaments.
While the focus of aluminum bats usually in in the danger to the fielder/pitcher, the real
danger is what has been overlooked. That is that the pitchers at all levels hardly ever pitch to contact (like Greg Maddux) but pitch to strike out a hitter or nibble on the corners. Why is this important to look at? It is important because if you study the increased injury to pitcher's arms and shoulders, I think you will find that the real danger is in the way a pitcher now pitches. The number of throws he has to make.
Not only does a pitcher throw many more balls, he throws harder (fewer change ups) and he throws many more breaking balls. Because of this, the arm injuries have exploded.
Go watch a JUCO or High School game. No one can pitch to contact. Even the OUTS are
not easy.
Look at the scores. I worked the CCIW college D3 conference. Go to their baseball web site and see the scores. -i.e. 15, 12, 17, 22, 16, 13, 11, and some of these were loosing scores. Look and see how the game is now a travesty. Little Johnny, 5'0 tall can hit one 375 feet on a non windy day. I see pitchers that throw in the low 90's in college. Makes no difference. They get hammered. Watch a D1 on TV. Same thing, high scores, long hits, long games. I work about 80 games a year of all levels.The game is horrible. The metal bat needs to go. It swings to easy, too balanced. Its barrel is too big. The pitchers have no chance.
Please feel free to contact me if you like. It is time that you survey the umpires around the country. They know the game. They know what is going on. I would bet that 98% would agree that metal bats are bad for the game, let along a kids brain. Most important, survey the college and high schools. My guess is that 99% of the pitchers want them gone, 98% of the hitters. Yes, just ask them, they tell me it is STUPID.
Author:
John Jaggi, Forsyth, IL
