Time to move the fences or build taller ones....

[Sparky Guy]

The NCAA needs to go back to the old strike zone. The pitchers are being forced to throw the ball in the wheel house of the the hitters with hot bats. Not good for the game. They wanted more offense in the game and it's gone too far in my opinion. Open the strike zone back up at the top and bottom.

The really bad side effect that I've noticed is the NCAA strike zone has been working its way into the lower levels. The strike zone has been shrinking there too.

As for the fences. They should be a minimum of 220'. Make a HR a HR... NOT a long fly ball.

 

[djcarter1966]

Agreed nothing wrong with 220 ft or 15ft high if environment won't allow. HRs are not supposed to be hit off of long pop ups.

 

[RichK]

Agree, too easy to hit a home run with what amounts to a line drive or a pop up, extra 20 feet would improve the game. Outfielders would still be able to chase balls down in those dimensions.

Other thing I see is is hitters much too comfortable. I think the addition of good "running start" mechanics in high level college swings -- I think Alex Hugo portrays it best -- lets hitters easily catch up to fastballs while also sitting on changeups. It's almost impossible to beat Alex Hugo with those mechanics. Watch her thread. She takes good cuts on balls of different speeds and at different locations without much struggle at all.

What would the answer for that be? You could argue the mound needs to be moved in. But I'd argue pitchers just need to get better. I'm seeing some D1 college pitchers on ESPN throwing 61, 62 without a great change of speed either. That's not going to get it done. Need to throw high 60s with good change of speed to better disrupt evolved hitting mechanics.

[Added: funny how it is just those hitting mechanics that unknowledgeable high school/travel coaches try to remove from hitters -- we hear that story often here at DFP. The very thing creating high-level success at the plate isn't understood yet by all coaches/instructors. It's probably the only thing saving pitchers from being totally dominated, but that won't last long as Hugo, Lafeyette Louisiana, Florida, etc. swings get better exposed and understood...]

 

[SoCal_Dad]

University of Arizina has 190 foot fences down the line. That's way too shallow for college players.

AZ fences are labeled 200' down the line and 220' center. They play shorter than that though due to the thin air.

UCLA's fences are listed as 190' down the lines and 210' in center, however some people think they're closer than 190' down the line(s).

WCWS @ HOF Stadium in OKC was 190' w/ 4' fences prior to 2010. It's now 200' w/ 6' fences.

Utah has a new stadium and they set the fences at 225-235-225 due to the thin air there. The games are great as well struck balls are still HR's and the extra space in the OF opens up other aspects of the game (e.g. OF defense and extra-base hits).

 

[marriard]

Agree, too easy to hit a home run with what amounts to a line drive or a pop up, extra 20 feet
...
What would the answer for that be? You could argue the mound needs to be moved in. But I'd argue pitchers just need to get better. I'm seeing some D1 college pitchers on ESPN throwing 61, 62 without a great change of speed either. That's not going to get it done. Need to throw high 60s with good change of speed to better disrupt evolved hitting mechanics.

So no way the mound moves closer. It is scary enough @ 43' with these hitters and bats.
And the pitchers you see on tv in the low 60's - well I saw the same girls being 'gunned' at 65+ in 18U travel and I know none of them got slower. Read into that what you will, but I have no problem with the speed.

What I would like to see is the rules throwing the pitchers a bone:

- There is a problem with the strike zone - as suggested earlier it needs to go back to what it was previously.
- We also need a return of the 'get out of the way' on hit-by-pitch so you can come inside more often without giving away easy bases off evoshield guards.

I never saw a reason they made either of these changes. They take away the high strike and the inside pitch. So you are really left with low and away being the only pitchers location - and low is always the toughest call for umpire to learn to call well so if this goes you are going to need to throw more meatballs as the strike zone gets further squeezed. Losing the higher strike also makes the riseball less effective as it becomes so much easier to lay off it. And all this means hitters also be a lot more patient as they know they can generally wait for a great pitch to hit most at bats.

Year after year the various rules committees also refuse to address the illegal pitch through the weakest excuses (my favorite is the 'scientific study on effects of change' - like the original rule went into effect with scientific research as the basis). The penalty is overkill (it should be just a ball) and this leads to the rule being called inconsistently (along with it being a really hard call to make on the field anyway). I could live with the penalty change in the short term, but I'd like to see them go further.

 

[rdbass]

Agree, too easy to hit a home run with what amounts to a line drive or a pop up, extra 20 feet would improve the game. Outfielders would still be able to chase balls down in those dimensions.

Other thing I see is is hitters much too comfortable. I think the addition of good "running start" mechanics in high level college swings -- I think Alex Hugo portrays it best -- lets hitters easily catch up to fastballs while also sitting on changeups. It's almost impossible to beat Alex Hugo with those mechanics. Watch her thread. She takes good cuts on balls of different speeds and at different locations without much struggle at all.

What would the answer for that be? You could argue the mound needs to be moved in. But I'd argue pitchers just need to get better. I'm seeing some D1 college pitchers on ESPN throwing 61, 62 without a great change of speed either. That's not going to get it done. Need to throw high 60s with good change of speed to better disrupt evolved hitting mechanics.

[Added: funny how it is just those hitting mechanics that unknowledgeable high school/travel coaches try to remove from hitters -- we hear that story often here at DFP. The very thing creating high-level success at the plate isn't understood yet by all coaches/instructors. It's probably the only thing saving pitchers from being totally dominated, but that won't last long as Hugo, Lafeyette Louisiana, Florida, etc. swings get better exposed and understood...]

I was thinking about this last night. I 'think' the hitters are using better instruction/video to practice a HL swing. The change of the thinking and adopting that the baseball swing is the same as a softball swing and teaching it as the same. Knowledge is king. Use it.

 

[CoogansBluff]

Other thing I see is is hitters much too comfortable. I think the addition of good "running start" mechanics in high level college swings -- I think Alex Hugo portrays it best -- lets hitters easily catch up to fastballs while also sitting on changeups.]

Can you elaborate on 'running start'? I"m sure it's been discussed, but I'm not up to speed on it.

 

[rdbass]

Can you elaborate on 'running start'? I"m sure it's been discussed, but I'm not up to speed on it.

I'm not up to speed on it.

You answered it yourself.

Not answering for Richk. JMHO.

 

[wichita]

In the 8 ' s and early 90 ' s everyone said there wasn't enough offense ....now everyone says there's to much offense .......let the kids play, pitchers make more quality pitches, and let the ball fly lol

On a side note China my DD jacked 2 out yesterday that is why I responded to this thread

 

[FP26]

I was thinking about this last night. I 'think' the hitters are using better instruction/video to practice a HL swing. The change of the thinking and adopting that the baseball swing is the same as a softball swing and teaching it as the same. Knowledge is king. Use it.

I agree that the hitting instruction is improving and the players are using it to their advantage. That is a good thing for the game. But the more I watch, the more I think the strike zone needs to be changed. Or at least followed as it is written in the rulebooks. Just some basic math to show my point (and this is not scientific - just using arbitrary numbers...). If you look at a 24 x 24 inch square as representative of the strike zone, that is 576 square inches that the pitcher has to utilize. Now, if you allow the batter to crowd the plate, reduce the top of the zone, and reduce the bottom of the zone, you may end up with an 18 x 18 square (324 square inches). That is a reduction of 44% in the area the pitcher is able to work in. It is also a 44% reduction in the area the hitter needs to control. Combine those improved HL mechanics with a smaller window to watch, and things become much more difficult for the pitchers.