Ban Metal Bats?

[hellborn]

lol...better than no baseball at all? what kinda comparison is that..ITS ABOUT MONEY AND CORPORATE PROFITS..if you break 3 bats in one day you are really mishitting it,,and should prolly own a minus 12 0z metal...maybe we should use big fred flinstone ulta light bats ,,,,like the golf clubs they make with the head the size of a breadbasket...that should keep everyone playing..

I've never broken 3 bats in one day, but I could certainly see it happening on the wrong day, especially with the bats I like. I take the same approach with wood as with metal and try to hit the hell out of the ball...and I have run into guys with late break on their power pitches who can get me on the hands or off the (bat) cup and shear me off good. Part of the game...I've always adjusted after losing one bat, but I'm sure I could have a bad day and lose more in a game. But, the last thing I'm going to do is be defensive at the plate to save a bat.
I used -5oz metals in adult league play, and why? Because everybody else in the league did, more or less...I wasn't going to give up the advantage. When I would join a Sunday pickup game, I would use wood more often, because the competition was less intense. But, there was that one guy there who threw some kind of funny cutter...
I have always wanted to play in a wood bat league, and now there is one in my area for my age group...but, now I have a family and absolutely cannot and will not give up my family weekend time for baseball. I did it for one year after my daughter was born and felt like I was the worst father in the world, and I probably wasn't too far off. I'll just have to keep my swing in gear until my daughter is old enough to not want to have anything to do with me. When it's time, I'll still have several seasons worth of wood waiting in the basement.

[hellborn]

Thats weird, when I was in rookie ball we got just the opposite feeling of the composite. The ball jumped off those Baum Bats.

Just buy Ash, bone it correctly and they are just as hard. The only disadvantage to Ash is that after a while they will splinter unlike maple, but they are half the price if not more.

I'm sure that we could be talking about a lot of different types of "composite"...the ones I'm thinking of have a layer of some kind of polymer on them, but it sounds like others are talking about laminated bats.

HG, does boning help with keeping the handle from snapping? I would occasionally have a barrel splinter, but over 90% of my breaks were just the handle popping...because I like thin handles, I'm sure.

[hiddengem]

I'm not saying that high quality maple doesn't break. I'm saying that it does. Which is why I wish the maple bats were cheaper. And composite bats are great for the cages, but are severely limited in game situations. It just doesn't feel right and tends to take away power from me.

Thats weird, when I was in rookie ball we got just the opposite feeling of the composite. The ball jumped off those Baum Bats.

Just buy Ash, bone it correctly and they are just as hard. The only disadvantage to Ash is that after a while they will splinter unlike maple, but they are half the price if not more.

[Sultan_1895-1948]

I've used both composite and actual wood bats in cages and games. Composites don't give the same feel or results that a natural woody gives. Continued use in the cages with a composite might limit the actual number of real woods broke in a game. That's the only real benefit I see to them. Besides money of course, and to me, there's not enough savings in the world that can replace the feel and sound of el natural woodrow. Anything after high school should be wood imo. Aluminum allows a completely different approach and gives a false sense of security/ability. I think pro baseball's (all levels) product will improve if colleges go to wood.

[MrUniverse09]

Doesn't matter, the point is they don't break as easy as regular wood, and they would be safer in college.

If the kid wants to spend the money on regular wood, go for it, but they should have to use it.

Is it your opinion that "high quality" maple doesn't break as easy? I've had the best of the best and it all breaks the same.

I'm not saying that high quality maple doesn't break. I'm saying that it does. Which is why I wish the maple bats were cheaper. And composite bats are great for the cages, but are severely limited in game situations. It just doesn't feel right and tends to take away power from me.

[hiddengem]

I can attest to the fact that composite bats (at least the one's that I've hit with) DO NOT maintain the feel of wood I wish high quality maple bats were cheaper.


However, I do think that metal bats should be banned.

Doesn't matter, the point is they don't break as easy as regular wood, and they would be safer in college.

If the kid wants to spend the money on regular wood, go for it, but they should have to use it.

Is it your opinion that "high quality" maple doesn't break as easy? I've had the best of the best and it all breaks the same.

[MrUniverse09]

I can attest to the fact that composite bats (at least the one's that I've hit with) DO NOT maintain the feel of wood I wish high quality maple bats were cheaper.


However, I do think that metal bats should be banned.

[wogdoggy]

get back to me when you figure it out..heck even you can be a scout....a probably make more money than you do now..

[AYEKAYE47]

listen anybody can be labeled a pro scout ok.? ask gem.Weve got 100's of guys teaching at academys that are pro scouts for this team and pro scouts for that team...let me tell you something about life.If you have a job{FINDING TALENT} and you keep comming up with duds..you'll be looking elsewhere soon....ask dave hudgkins.

Yeah, national crosscheck scouts at all of your 'academys'....


errr, you mean some guy with a radar gun who calls himself a scout... mmk.

[wogdoggy]

listen anybody can be labeled a pro scout ok.? ask gem.Weve got 100's of guys teaching at academys that are pro scouts for this team and pro scouts for that team...let me tell you something about life.If you have a job{FINDING TALENT} and you keep comming up with duds..you'll be looking elsewhere soon....ask dave hudgkins.

[AYEKAYE47]

Why arent you a pro scout then?


Id rather do what i do ,make what i make, go home when i want, to not have to travel ,and ,,,,I probably couldnt even come close to maintaining my lifestyle on what most of them make if they make anything at all..plus thats not my bag baby...lol

Oh sorry, I was just thinking that since you were willing to criticize pro scouts who have been around the game longer than you at a higher and and whose full time job is to... nevermind.

[wogdoggy]

It's a shame that you're the only person who is capable of understanding these complicated issues. SO sorry for being ignorant.

lol...better than no baseball at all? what kinda comparison is that..ITS ABOUT MONEY AND CORPORATE PROFITS..if you break 3 bats in one day you are really mishitting it,,and should prolly own a minus 12 0z metal...maybe we should use big fred flinstone ulta light bats ,,,,like the golf clubs they make with the head the size of a breadbasket...that should keep everyone playing..

[hellborn]

Baum Bats would be an outstanding alternative. They are a composite wood bat that can take a pretty good beating before it breaks.

Rookie ball players are allowed to swing these bats because most college hitters don't know how to hit with wood at first, and if they used real wood right out of the gate you would see wood flying all over the yard.

When I was a rookie we had some of these bats last the entire season. Don't kid yourselves the almighty $$$$$ is involved with this decision. Easton and Louisville would be hurt tremendously. If they were really intent on protecting the player, it could be done easily with composite wood, and not cost the team or the player any more money than he/they spend on metal.

Given the sentiment that composite wood technology would allow for a durable bat that would not distort the game as much as metal, I have voted for banning wood. I just needed to know what the practical alternative was.

[hellborn]

I guess you just dont get it..metal bats mask bad habits.they are dangerous and are generally to light...a real hitter can hit hard with a wood bat or metal bat..a crummy hitter cant hit with either.moreso a wood...funny how parents will dish 200 bucks foor an alumimnum but cringe when buying 3 40 dollar woodies.

Yeah, I haven't owned several high quality metal bats (and even snapped one on an inside pitch) and compared them to the dozens of wood bats that I've used. I never noticed that the metal bats were light, powerful, and far more forgiving than wood. I've never had a wood bat shatter in my hands on a pitch that would have been a line single with a metal bat.
I love wood bats, but the 3 forty dollar woodies you mention might not last a single game under the wrong circumstances. I like the game better with wood, but worry that fewer people would be able to play with that restriction. Baseball with metal bats is a lot better than no baseball.
It's a shame that you're the only person who is capable of understanding these complicated issues. SO sorry for being ignorant.

[wogdoggy]

Why arent you a pro scout then?


Id rather do what i do ,make what i make, go home when i want, to not have to travel ,and ,,,,I probably couldnt even come close to maintaining my lifestyle on what most of them make if they make anything at all..plus thats not my bag baby...lol..