By Kenny Barto
If you hang around a college baseball game long enough, you will begin to realize everyone seems to be talking about the new bats that the NCAA requires teams to use.
The standard used, called Ball-Bat Coefficient of Restitution, measures the “bounciness” of the bat, instead of the old Ball Exit Speed Ratio standard that measured just the speed at which the ball was going when it left the bat.
“The new BBCOR formula provides a better measure of a bat’s performance and allows the NCAA Baseball Rules Committee and bat-testing laboratories to better predict field performance based on lab tests,” an August press release by the NCAA said. “The goal is for non-wood bats that meet this new standard to perform similarly to wood bats.”
The reason that the NCAA is using non-wood bats that act like wood bats is simple. The metal bats cost in upwards of $300, but are expected to last a couple of years. Wood bats can cost around $100, but can break even after one at bat, which can cost schools hundreds of dollars more in providing bats for the players.
On the other side of things, most college players play in summer leagues, which require the use of wood bats. There are close to 50 of these leagues around the country. It is those leagues which house the talents of most of the Division I, II and III players from around the country.
“I’m not sure you even see the same averages in the wood bat leagues, they’re pretty boring,” said CCSU head coach Charlie Hickey. “You aren’t seeing home-runs, so just because they’re using it doesn’t mean they’re hitting with it.”
There is no doubt that these new standards are affecting the statistics of college baseball around the country. ESPN reports that the average Division I team is hitting 0.47 home runs per game and scoring 5.63 runs per game, as opposed to 0.85 home runs and 6.98 runs per game at the same point last season.
“The ball obviously just doesn’t jump off the bat as much,” Hickey said. “It’s impacting our style of play to the point where we have to do different things, and try to adapt.”
Last year, the CCSU baseball team was crushing the ball. The Blue Devils set team records in runs (472), hits (679), batting average (.341), home runs (70), and runs batted in (441). This year, CCSU is only batting .283 through 26 games with six home runs.
Virginia, ranked first in the nation, has only hit eight home runs through 34 games. If you can’t do the math, the national average was four times greater than what the top team in the nation is hitting right now.
“The bats definitely make a difference,” said CCSU senior second baseman Sean Miller-Jones. “Now it’s more ‘baseball’, more pitching, more small ball, and better strategy.”
In addition to the drastic offensive changes, the changes in pitching statistics are obvious as well. The Blue Devils’ team ERA is 4.47, while four pitchers have ERA’s below 3.00. Last year, CCSU’s ERA was 6.64, with the lowest ERA being 3.86. Their ace, Dave Krasnowiecki went 7-3 with a 4.84 ERA, which was about average with other aces around the Northeast Conference.
Even though some fans enjoy a good pitchers duel, many of the larger schools are starting to worry about losing fans because the game may become less attractive to some people. At schools like Virginia, Florida, and even Notre Dame, fans have to pay in upwards of $6 to attend a game. Luckily, CCSU doesn’t have that issue, mostly because fans are made up of parents, alumni, and a few select students, who will show up no matter what.
The issue with the new bats will likely continue for years to come. You will never find a baseball coach or player blame anything entirely on the new bats, but the numbers don’t lie. Baseball has also always found a way to evolve around changing times, so it’s likely that even though the new bats are presenting a challenge now, baseball will definitely find a way to make things work for everyone.