Susie Parra Arizona vs Lisa Fernandez Ucla 1993 CWS final game

[Towny9]

I never had first hand experience of the yellow vs white ball. I can tell you though from experience that the composite bats today are light years different than the bats they are using there. Baseball had a short stint of composite bats that ended around 2011. I had used aluminum in college and then swung wood in mens leagues after college. I remember picking up one of our HS kids composites and taking bp with it for the first time. I thought I was going to kill an infielder. Shorty after, baseball went to the BBCOR standard. Softball still uses the composites though - and that’s the biggest change to the game from then and now that I can think of.

 

[_MIA_]

I never had first hand experience of the yellow vs white ball. I can tell you though from experience that the composite bats today are light years different than the bats they are using there. Baseball had a short stint of composite bats that ended around 2011. I had used aluminum in college and then swung wood in mens leagues after college. I remember picking up one of our HS kids composites and taking no with it for the first time. I thought I was going to kill an infielder. Shorty after, baseball went to the BBCOR standard. Softball still uses the composites though - and that’s the biggest change to the game from then and now that I can think of.

All the things that made it more difficult to hit back then (or more accurately when those kids were developing since, even though the ball was yellow and the distance in that game was 43 ft, they grew up with a white ball, 40 ft distance and AL bats) caused the players to evolve to the swings you saw in that game. Doesn't mean (most) of their swings would play today. Like I said, just compare Rogers Hornsby's, Ty Cobb's etc swing to what you see now (or even 1930's on up...)

 

[radness]

How many line drives were hit in that game? 1? Granted those were two dominant pitchers but the only difference between then and now is the bats since the ball and pitching distance was the same.

You do hitting instruction and have put kids in college ball in today's game. Do the mechanics of your players look like a majority of those 1993 players?

I do not teach hitters to stand straight upright like a tree.
However it doesn't matter what I teach.

Think what you are trying to discuss is technical mechanics. And since not everybody teaches the same mechanics even in today's game that is a revolving door conversation.

All the technical tidbits that go along with that 'today' are still not consistent with each other....from coach to coach or player to player.
Nor instructor to instructor.

Btw, Thanku for asking!
To complete that comment Think it would be wrong to say just because someone was teaching or successful in something 25 years ago doesn't mean it is irrelevant today. Because you would have to be able to see what they were doing (are doing) to actually make a determination of it today. Do not think you could throw out everything that was done because it is still done today and it is still successful.

 

[_MIA_]

I do not teach hitters to stand straight upright like a tree.
However it doesn't matter what I teach.

Think what you are trying to discuss is technical mechanics. And since not everybody teaches the same mechanics even in today's game that is a revolving door conversation.

All the technical tidbits that go along with that 'today' are still not consistent with each other....from coach to coach or player to player.
Nor instructor to instructor.


To complete that comment I think it would be wrong to say just because someone was teaching or successful in something 25 years ago doesn't mean it is irrelevant today. Because you would have to be able to see what they were doing to actually make a determination of it today period. I do not think you could throw out everything that was done because it is still done today and it is still successful

Forget teaching technical mechanics, just look at the successful swings of today. Go through UCLA's lineup in 1993 and 2021 and tell me what you see. Whether or not you think the swings of 1993 would play today or not, fact of the matter is most kids don't swing like that anymore so either a majority of TB,HS,College coaches are wrong now or there is something about what you see in the modern swing that they think is advantageous in today's game.

Edit: Standing up straight in your stance is fine as long as you get into good posture eventually.

 

[radness]

Forget teaching technical mechanics, just look at the successful swings of today. Go through UCLA's lineup in 1993 and 2021 and tell me what you see. Whether or not you think the swings of 1993 would play today or not, fact of the matter is most kids don't swing like that anymore so either a majority of TB,HS,College coaches are wrong now or there is something about what you see in the modern swing that they think is advantageous in today's game.

Edit: Standing up straight in your stance is fine as long as you get into good posture eventually.

Hmmm not sure what point you are asking/making?

Know that even coaches at the top colleges do not teach exactly the same thing or want the same thing as the others.
Which is evident in players going to camps and noticing the differences.

Interesting pitching is actually reverting back to the way it was previously.
With the leapish.

 

[_MIA_]

Hmmm not sure what point you are asking/making?

Basically my question is if you took the UCLA lineup from 1993 (with their 1993 swings but 2021 bats), and put them in the 2021 UCLA lineup how would that team do in your opinion? If you think they would fare well then you are seeing things differently than I am, which is fine.

Again I am not knocking those players, their swings were a product of their environment.

 

[radness]

Since I have already made comments about hitting mechanics.
Will comment to this~

The use of composite bats noticeably increased batting averages. A lightning bolt did not strike down and change everybody's hitting mechanics.

As to the athletes that were on the field for UCLA and Arizona. I would take any group of them and compile a team to compete against today's players.

Will say in watching the more recent College World Series events there are a heck of a lot more players that stand and watch strike three then we used to years back. Perhaps we were more aggressive about trying to get on base and put the ball in play. (Perhaps because it was harder to get on base)

Still in todays game, the amount of standing and watching strikes go by for strike 3... is failure.
(Last olympics included)

 

[soonerfan1966]

With inferior bats wouldn't the swings have to be better to have any success. Just like the difference between wood and non-wood bats.

 

[_MIA_]

A lightning bolt did not strike down and change everybody's hitting mechanics.

No a change in the game mainly brought about by a yellow ball, 43 ft vs 40 ft and better bats (along with access to better training) did but obviously you don't see much of a difference or if you do you don't think it would make much of a difference so I guess we will agree to disagree.

 

[radness]

No a change in the game mainly brought about by a yellow ball, 43 ft vs 40 ft and better bats did but obviously you don't see much of a difference or if you do you don't think it would make much of a difference so I guess we will agree to disagree.

This imo is simply a revolving door discussion about mechanics.
That is a simple point.

For some reason you think that now there is only one style of hitting mechanics that everybody does.

Simply not the case.