Comparing HRs in HSSB to HSBB.

[Rocketech1]

Scorekeeper - forget baseball for a minute but if we focus on the number of home runs being hit in fastpitch today versus say 10 years ago, I think there are some factors that help contribute to the increase such as a) bat technology is much better; b) better conditioned athletes; c) more athletes taking private hitting instruction on a regular basis; d) increasing the pitching distance from 40ft to 43 feet, at a younger age; e) the lowering of the strike zone from under arm pits to below sternum; f) less small ball being played (for above reasons).

 

[Scorekeeper]

Scorekeeper - forget baseball for a minute but if we focus on the number of home runs being hit in fastpitch today versus say 10 years ago, I think there are some factors that help contribute to the increase such as a) bat technology is much better; b) better conditioned athletes; c) more athletes taking private hitting instruction on a regular basis; d) increasing the pitching distance from 40ft to 43 feet, at a younger age; e) the lowering of the strike zone from under arm pits to below sternum; f) less small ball being played (for above reasons).

Since I have no softball experience to speak of, I honestly can’t say even how the number of HRs today compares to the number at some point in the past. All I did was look at MaxPreps in Ca to see the HR leaders in both SB and BB. The difference was striking.

I suppose if someone wanted to compare the SB HR rate today with the same thing 10 years ago it could be done the same way, and that should be done before arguing that it’s higher today than it was. Once that proof is in hand, it would be easier to speculate as to the reasons. But if HSSB was an analog for HSBB, you’d think the HR rate would be higher there too.

 

[Scorekeeper]

I don't think its absurd. . .

Of course you don’t because it doesn’t bother you that the thought didn’t come entirely from you. Not everyone is like that, and some believe that if they think something isn’t worth thinking about, it must therefore be absurd.

 

[Rocketech1]

Of course you don’t because it doesn’t bother you that the thought didn’t come entirely from you. Not everyone is like that, and some believe that if they think something isn’t worth thinking about, it must therefore be absurd.

One thing to keep in mind is that baseball and fastpitch are very different games so trying to compare and contrast HRs between the two and making a conclusion might be difficult, if not impossible. Below are some key differences:

- softball uses a lot larger ball (50% larger?)
- pitchers in softball do not pitch from an elevated mound (10 inches)
- field dimensions in softball are smaller (e.g. base paths 60ft, fences might be as short as 185ft down the lines)
- pitching distance is only 43feet = less time for big movement on pitches (60ft, 6 inches) unlike baseball (e.g. curve ball breaks several feet)
- a softball game is only 7 innings and frequently uses 1 pitcher. Baseball on the other hand has relief and closer pitchers that specialize in middle relief and closing the game.
- as I mentioned earlier, there are many "cheap" home runs in softball because of the lack of fences on some fields that are HRs in the scorebook but should have been doubles or triples.

 

[Scorekeeper]

One thing to keep in mind is that baseball and fastpitch are very different games so trying to compare and contrast HRs between the two and making a conclusion might be difficult, if not impossible. Below are some key differences:
…

I didn’t try to compare the two other than to note the HR rate, i.e. PAs/HRs. HRs/PAs, HRs per game or however you want to determine the rate, in HSSB in Ca is closer to the MLB HR rate than HSBB.

Just for kicks I looked up the 2015 season’s stats for National Pro Fastpitch. They had 184 HRs in 126 games. That’s about 1.5 HRs per game. It sure appears that HSFP is a lot closer to that rate than HSBB is to MLB.

Look, I’m not arguing anything other than I think the HS game would be a lot more enjoyable if there were more HRs.

 

[Rocketech1]

Look, I’m not arguing anything other than I think the HS game would be a lot more enjoyable if there were more HRs.

Not if your DD is a pitcher

 

[Eric F]

Never thought about it before, but reading through a recent thread about HRs in FPSB it made me wonder why in Ca the HR rate in FPSB is so much higher than the HR rate in baseball. Personally, I’ve always believed in baseball they should move the fences in until the HR rate is reasonably close to MLB, and it looks as though in softball they’ve managed to do a much better job of it. What's the reason for it?

They're two different sports. Just let them be two different sports. I see zero need to create any kind of alignment in numbers. Manipulating the field size to artificially generate some sort of statistical balance is pretty ridiculous.

 

[Scorekeeper]

They're two different sports. Just let them be two different sports. I see zero need to create any kind of alignment in numbers. Manipulating the field size to artificially generate some sort of statistical balance is pretty ridiculous.

Who’s trying to “align” them?

All I did was notice that the rate of HRs in MLB is a lot higher than HSB, but that HSFPSB has a HR rate that’s a lot higher than HSBB’s. I don’t want them to be the same in any way whatsoever, other than they both come from the same basic rules.

It seems foolish to me that in baseball 13YO kids often play on a field with fences the same distances as fields the very best grown men play on.

 

[Scorekeeper]

Not if your DD is a pitcher

My son was a BB pitcher in the years when hitters were using Titanium bats as well as all the other “hot” bats that could be rolled, shaved, and otherwise manipulated to make balls jump outrageous distances. To tell the truth, the last thing I worried about was how much danger he was in when pitching because he tried to get batters to hit the ball.

The only time he got hurt as a pitcher was when he was 10 and a hard comebacker hit the lip in front of the mound and busted his lip. The worst he was ever hurt was batting when both bones in his forearm got broken by a pitch.

Now he didn’t pitch as much as the starters do in FPSB, but he threw over 160 innings in HS, never missed a game because of injury, and that’s a bunch in HS.

 

[riseball]

...It seems foolish to me that in baseball 13YO kids often play on a field with fences the same distances as fields the very best grown men play on.

Too bad the 13YO boys aren't to compete at the same level as the 13YO girls, who play on the same size fields as they do in College and the NPF.