Follow
Donate to HeyBucket.com - Amount:

Welcome Anonymous !

Your Fastpitch Softball Bible
 

Fastpitch Discussions

Michelle Smith

What's on your mind?

by UmpSteve » Tue May 09, 2017 12:20 pm

MrGeek wrote:Does anyone foresee NCAA or USA Softball enforcing a bat standard similar to the BBCOR standards in baseball? There is a definite problem when 10 year old girls that weigh 80 lbs are able to hit 200' bombs.


Unlikely, in my opinion.

USA/ASA has already discovered from addressing slow pitch that, if/when change is deemed necessary, it's faster, easier and better for the customers to deaden the ball than expect people to accept losing expensive bats just for safety or competitive reasons. NFHS will follow USA's lead (and PGF follows NFHS); and USSSA will do the same, not risk alienating the potential customers they are trying to steal from USA and PGF.

NCAA wants the home runs; they are requiring new fields to be bigger, but that is to add more outfield play and more doubles and triples to the game., not take away offense. The current 190-200' fields have too many singles, they believe, not too many home runs.
User avatar
UmpSteve
Premium Member
Premium Member
 
Posts: 461
Joined: Fri Aug 21, 2009 10:38 am

by Sam » Tue May 09, 2017 2:39 pm

UmpSteve wrote:
MrGeek wrote:Does anyone foresee NCAA or USA Softball enforcing a bat standard similar to the BBCOR standards in baseball? There is a definite problem when 10 year old girls that weigh 80 lbs are able to hit 200' bombs.


Unlikely, in my opinion.

USA/ASA has already discovered from addressing slow pitch that, if/when change is deemed necessary, it's faster, easier and better for the customers to deaden the ball than expect people to accept losing expensive bats just for safety or competitive reasons. NFHS will follow USA's lead (and PGF follows NFHS); and USSSA will do the same, not risk alienating the potential customers they are trying to steal from USA and PGF.

NCAA wants the home runs; they are requiring new fields to be bigger, but that is to add more outfield play and more doubles and triples to the game., not take away offense. The current 190-200' fields have too many singles, they believe, not too many home runs.


They'll wait for a pitcher to be killed by a line drive.

This year the NCAA would have a MLB equivalent of 15 players with 50+ homers and the leader would equate right now to 95 homers. Hard to find an organization that could be run worse than it is right now.
Run your mouth when I'm not around
Its easy to achieve
You cry to weak friends that sympathize
- Pantera, Walk
User avatar
Sam
Premium Member
Premium Member
 
Posts: 3174
Joined: Wed Jan 16, 2008 8:22 am
Location: Norco, California

by as the world turns » Tue May 09, 2017 7:27 pm

That early video showing some of those swings, painful to watch.

Also, it seems the game was not that fast and dangerous because helmets weren't necessary.

But one thing for sure, those same umpires are still umpiring today.

She really thinks her generation was better, rather classless of her.
“Life is hard; it's harder if you're stupid.” John Wayne
User avatar
as the world turns
 
Posts: 1519
Joined: Thu Oct 02, 2008 9:54 am

by jonriv » Wed May 10, 2017 6:33 am

Michelle Smith is a softball pioneer and icon. She was able to maintain and succeed at a multigenerational softball career. Her career should speak for itself-I just wish she would let it. She seems to be bitter towards the modern game and its players when she should enjoy the fact that she helped to shape and create it. Its never easy to compare different eras in any sport.

As the short clip from 60 minutes shows(The Brakettes-they are still around in Connecticut :D ) much has changed in softball. Improvements in bats, balls, fields etc. Most college teams(the one's that existed) were underfunded and often neglected. My school had a softball team(which I never knew at the time) on a field without a fence.

Here's my $.02:

Michelle is right on these accounts-back then they played with heavy, dead bats with even deader balls. Rules were also more slanted to pitching dominance. It was much harder to be a dominate hitter

Here's what she left out:

The pool of of real good college level players is exponentially larger than it was then. The huge infrastructure of coaches, travel teams, training etc is huge. As mentioned in previous posts-today's players are better trained than their predecessors. Today's players are also better athletes and are bigger, stronger and faster. The weight and conditioning program my daughter went through in College far surpassed what I did as a football player in HS in the early '80s. Just look at the film clip and compare that to the players of today
User avatar
jonriv
 
Posts: 4875
Joined: Fri Feb 20, 2009 6:01 am
Location: Connecticut

by jonriv » Wed May 10, 2017 6:37 am

Sam wrote:
UmpSteve wrote:
MrGeek wrote:Does anyone foresee NCAA or USA Softball enforcing a bat standard similar to the BBCOR standards in baseball? There is a definite problem when 10 year old girls that weigh 80 lbs are able to hit 200' bombs.


Unlikely, in my opinion.

USA/ASA has already discovered from addressing slow pitch that, if/when change is deemed necessary, it's faster, easier and better for the customers to deaden the ball than expect people to accept losing expensive bats just for safety or competitive reasons. NFHS will follow USA's lead (and PGF follows NFHS); and USSSA will do the same, not risk alienating the potential customers they are trying to steal from USA and PGF.

NCAA wants the home runs; they are requiring new fields to be bigger, but that is to add more outfield play and more doubles and triples to the game., not take away offense. The current 190-200' fields have too many singles, they believe, not too many home runs.


They'll wait for a pitcher to be killed by a line drive.

This year the NCAA would have a MLB equivalent of 15 players with 50+ homers and the leader would equate right now to 95 homers. Hard to find an organization that could be run worse than it is right now.



I thought the NCAA rolled out new bat regulations were rolled out back in 2010-2011??

Is the HR increase a DI phenomena or at all levels of college play? They use the same equipment, no? Is it region(east-west, north -south) Climate related(warm vs cold)
User avatar
jonriv
 
Posts: 4875
Joined: Fri Feb 20, 2009 6:01 am
Location: Connecticut

by PDad » Wed May 10, 2017 7:32 pm

jonriv wrote:Here's my $.02:

,,. It was much harder to be a dominate hitter

Are you trying to aggravate Arto? Don't poke the bear...

The huge infrastructure of coaches, travel teams, training etc is huge.

Really? Thank God your DD got her brains from her mom...
User avatar
PDad
Premium Member
Premium Member
 
Posts: 3439
Joined: Sun Mar 29, 2009 4:52 pm

by UmpSteve » Thu May 11, 2017 6:56 am

jonriv wrote:
Sam wrote:
UmpSteve wrote:
MrGeek wrote:Does anyone foresee NCAA or USA Softball enforcing a bat standard similar to the BBCOR standards in baseball? There is a definite problem when 10 year old girls that weigh 80 lbs are able to hit 200' bombs.


Unlikely, in my opinion.

USA/ASA has already discovered from addressing slow pitch that, if/when change is deemed necessary, it's faster, easier and better for the customers to deaden the ball than expect people to accept losing expensive bats just for safety or competitive reasons. NFHS will follow USA's lead (and PGF follows NFHS); and USSSA will do the same, not risk alienating the potential customers they are trying to steal from USA and PGF.

NCAA wants the home runs; they are requiring new fields to be bigger, but that is to add more outfield play and more doubles and triples to the game., not take away offense. The current 190-200' fields have too many singles, they believe, not too many home runs.


They'll wait for a pitcher to be killed by a line drive.

This year the NCAA would have a MLB equivalent of 15 players with 50+ homers and the leader would equate right now to 95 homers. Hard to find an organization that could be run worse than it is right now.



I thought the NCAA rolled out new bat regulations were rolled out back in 2010-2011??

Is the HR increase a DI phenomena or at all levels of college play? They use the same equipment, no? Is it region(east-west, north -south) Climate related(warm vs cold)


The latest/recent bat regulations you reference did little. The exact same bat specs as USA/ASA and high school, actually. The changes kept teams from getting "special" bats from manufacturers, increased the monitoring, testing and checking for altered bats; all good things. However, they allowed the manufacturers to withdraw bats at any time, and that had assumably unintended consequences; first, some manufacturers pulled bats they knew would be found out to be hot (but since not tested and failed remain approved in the other sanctions), some manufacturers pulled bats to force new sales of their newer products, and, most significantly, they pull individual bat models once they get two failed units ("strikes") so that these bats never show a third strike. If a bat gets three strikes and the NCAA removes that model before the manufacturer does, then USA/ASA would act on it and make in nonapproved (which would carry over to NFHS). But the manufacturers are on top of that to keep the bats approved elsewhere.

Same bats in other collegiate levels, but less bat testing (it's the D1 conferences pushing testing before conference series). Less skilled players hitting bombs when they swing from the heels on less skilled pitchers; everywhere, as best I can tell. I work all levels; some D1, D2, D3, NAIA, JUCO; probably see a few (or more) home runs practically EVERY game.

For the record, dominate is a verb; dominant is an adjective. Yes, same peeve as Arto.
User avatar
UmpSteve
Premium Member
Premium Member
 
Posts: 461
Joined: Fri Aug 21, 2009 10:38 am

by curveballerguy124 » Mon May 15, 2017 2:15 pm

They need to go back to the old Debeer 212's balls....Chin knows what I'm talking about!! My thought if the governing bodies are gonna ok hot bats and rock hard softballs then pitchers should be allowed to leap, replant, slide back, whatever to help them and give them an advantage on the bump.....Make it advantage pitcher!!
curveballerguy124
Premium Member
Premium Member
 
Posts: 390
Joined: Tue Feb 09, 2016 5:53 pm

by Chin Music » Tue May 16, 2017 3:21 pm

Going to Debeers would help with the danger factor! It would also result in low scoring games which is what the fans don't like. Bat companies would be pretty pissed also. Letting the pitchers do whatever they want which most men's game allow would also decrease scoring. How bout making it mandatory for the pitchers to wear masks?
User avatar
Chin Music
Premium Member
Premium Member
 
Posts: 388
Joined: Wed Jan 09, 2008 5:42 pm

by jonriv » Wed May 17, 2017 8:00 am

User avatar
jonriv
 
Posts: 4875
Joined: Fri Feb 20, 2009 6:01 am
Location: Connecticut

PreviousNext

Return to Fastpitch Discussions

cron