When Marc Johnson began his coaching career at Cherry Creek in 1972, the game of baseball looked very different. "With the wood bats, you can break a wood bat, on average, once a game.Digital Replica Edition Home Page Close Menu The aluminum bats, even though they're BBCOR-certified and perform much more like wood bats, they last longer," he says.
So why not just go back to wooden bats? The answer is obvious to Williams. "And you can pitch with a lot more confidence now. " really excited about that, looking forward to getting bad contact with the smaller sweet spot and getting guys to roll over on balls," he says. And although it may take some adjustments as a hitter, Culp says he's looking forward to pitching to players with the BBCOR bats. Aluminum bats allowed for more home runs and balls hit in the gap, and he says he expects to see more one- and two-run games in the upcoming season.Īndrew Culp, a junior who pitches and plays first base at Maret, says he can feel a difference when hitting. the numbers dropped offensively and you know, there was more of a premium on defense, and moving guys over - playing the game the right way."Ĭhanges in bat technology have historically changed the game, Williams says. "I think it's going to be a big deal," Williams says. In college baseball, which adopted the standard last year, the rate of home runs per game fell almost in half.Īntoine Williams, the baseball coach at the Maret School in Washington, D.C., tells All Things Considered host Robert Siegel that he expects the BBCOR bats to have the same effect on the high school game as well. The idea is that since the balls come off the bats more slowly, there's a reduced potential for injury.īut there's another consequence: fewer home runs. The bats are less springy and have a smaller "sweet spot." In other words, they behave more like old-fashioned wooden bats.
The switch involves a change of bat - from a regular aluminum bat to a metal bat known as Batted-Ball Coefficient of Restitution, or BBCOR. The National Federation of State High School Associations has adopted a new standard for baseball bats that is expected to change the way the game is played. This year, high school players will use a different type of metal bat that's designed to reduce injuries.īaseball practice has just begun at many high schools across the country, but this year, the game is different. Members of the Arlington Heights High School baseball team swing their old-style aluminum bats during the 2009 season in Fort Worth, Texas.
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