USSSA Announcement on Bat Certification

[MTR]

If softball is doing so well why are our girls armored up like medieval knights (sorry knightsbridge) to protect themselves from these bats?

Because "traditionalists" insist on not adjusting the game and field to accommodate the increased athleticism of the players and hi-tech offensive equipment.

Why are slight swings on good pitches on the black producing serious line drives? Why is a mishit still coming out so hard? The mph rule of the bat is a joke. This whole softball bat rules thing is a joke. Just like it is said the manufacturers are making a killing (could be a bad pun too).

Because they are not coached properly. For the same reason it is always the other team's pitcher who is illegal and not your Little Susie. Because you want the offense and really don't give a damn about the defense. Because DD has to be the best at whatever it is and if the equipment can nullify her shortcomings, you want it.

Prove I am wrong, get rid of the bats. Go ahead, stop buying the bats as the consumer is the only one who can cause it to change to the point it will go where you want it to go. Then you will need REAL coaches to teach the actual mechanics of the game through hard work and practice that goes beyond some of the gimmickery that some rely upon. The players will actually learn how to hit certain holes, not just hit it hard an rely on the exit speed to get the ball pass the defender. And they will also learn how to bunt because what you see on ALL ballfields today is one sorry exhibition of bunting. This has caused the true sacrifice to almost disappear from the game of softball. The hit is too important, Little Susie will never get the almighty carrot by sacrificing the other player into scoring position. Even in MLB, the "I don't pay XXX to bunt" attitude has diluted the game of baseball to the point the players are not even close to being on par of those 60 years ago.

Get rid of the bats and I see the level of participation above 14U will drop drastically and the expense of the TB teams will soar. But I'm all for going backwards on the bats. Then again, if you think what has been done to this point is a joke, lets just drop it all together and see how Little Susie does.

Softball is far from OK. Baseball has moved some of the LL distances back, banned most composites, and restricting the drops, while softball is IMO leaving everything dangerous.

Bat drops is another over-emphasized number. It is a great starting point guide for fitting a bat to a player, but the reference is just as meaningless to a decent player as a manufacturer's FP or SP designation when it comes to actual use.

Are the bats still dangerous? Yeah, but so is crashing the plate. You want to outlaw that, too? The thing is that you insist upon using them, not me. If I had my druthers, I'd go back to wood, but that isn't going to happen, is it? And there are two reasons. First, not enough trees in the forests and, second, it would make the game too hard for many to play.

The baseball community is knee-jerk-centric and they lack definition. I take anything they do as the first step to a long-term tap dance.

 

[mad hornet]

Just got an email from our USSSA State director that the new bat standard effective date has been extended until January 1st, 2014. I can only assume that since ASA met and didn't address bat standards for the coming year (in lieu of moving 14u back to 43 feet to keep up with the encroaching PGF) USSSA saw future lost revenue. Seems they are banking on all those old bats getting replaced by Santa Claus on Christmas day 2013.

And if not and if ASA doesn't change in 2013 they have bought another year to extend again if need be.