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KoopsDad
73 Posts |
 Posted - 03/15/2010 : 15:59:04
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I would have no problem going back to wood bats....especially when my kid is on the mound. Our kids love hitting with them. We split our squad and played a nine inning "fun" coach pitch game yesterday after practice using our wood bats because the balls were too wet to hit metal w/o risk of damage to the bats and the kids seem to love it. Even had a 2 run shot (hit about 230) in the top of the ninth to break a tie. Good wood will still allow you to hit the ball a ways, just not as far and less forgiving. It also teaches the kids to focus on line drives and not trying to hit the ball out. 200 ft fences and wood bats would be a lot of fun. If they wanted to do the Cooperstown tourney right, that is what they would do.
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Originally posted by Rocky
I would have no problem going back to wooden bats. Part of the problem with these new bats is they are hotter than bats 10 years ago, and those were hotter than bats 10 years before that.
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Whitlow
211 Posts |
Posted - 03/15/2010 : 18:17:19
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quote:
Originally posted by Rocky
I would have no problem going back to wooden bats. Part of the problem with these new bats is they are hotter than bats 10 years ago, and those were hotter than bats 10 years before that.
The only problem with wooden bats is that they are too heavy for the younger age groups. I think the lightest is -5 in youth bats and a lot of kids don't use -5 bats until 13U. I hear it is very boring to watch the younger ages groups in a wooden bat tourney too because none of them hit very well with them. I think 12U is a good age to start with the wooden bats. I think that 12U/13U is the age a lot of them start hitting with the wood bats anyway. |
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blowinsmoke
61 Posts |
Posted - 03/22/2010 : 12:31:53
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| I saw a bomb from #29 from chilidog -Lawson team , It was at Ecb field 8 I think, it needed about a foot more and it would have cleared the dugout on the field above ,It was an awesome shot. |
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gamer13
16 Posts |
Posted - 03/22/2010 : 13:42:14
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| About the bomb from the HP Chilidogs. It happened to be a grand slam. 6 homeruns from those boys this weekend. |
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BBall123
395 Posts |
Posted - 03/22/2010 : 15:16:29
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Thats for sure, two solo homers and that bomb sent us home early.  quote:
Originally posted by blowinsmoke
I saw a bomb from #29 from chilidog -Lawson team , It was at Ecb field 8 I think, it needed about a foot more and it would have cleared the dugout on the field above ,It was an awesome shot.
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10 BB
264 Posts |
Posted - 03/22/2010 : 16:33:24
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| #10 from the Bay Bombers hit his first GRANDSLAM HOMERUN and it was a walk off against the EC Titans at the Super NIT!!! |
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itsaboutbb
164 Posts |
Posted - 03/22/2010 : 23:24:59
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quote:
Originally posted by blowinsmoke
I saw a bomb from #29 from chilidog -Lawson team , It was at Ecb field 8 I think, it needed about a foot more and it would have cleared the dugout on the field above ,It was an awesome shot.
Triple Crown a few weeks ago a kid from the Stixx hit the concession stand on a one hopper on field 8 at ECB |
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baseballdoc
73 Posts |
Posted - 03/23/2010 : 13:01:44
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I watched most of the 11u Super NIT games and only saw 3 monster bombs: two of them were hit at Lovejoy by MBA's #3 and #8th place hitters [250 ft distance and 10 ft high fences] and the other at NF by MBA's #6th place hitter [200 ft distance and 5 ft high fences - hit over the pine trees]. Did I miss any other HRs hit at Lovejoy?? I know there were a bunch at the NF site, with the much shorter distance.
quote:
Originally posted by 10 BB
#10 from the Bay Bombers hit his first GRANDSLAM HOMERUN and it was a walk off against the EC Titans at the Super NIT!!!
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bmoser
1633 Posts |
Posted - 03/23/2010 : 20:57:59
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Anyone seeing homers being hit by small or average sized boys? I don't see that very much. Seems like 80 pounds is the magic weight right now. The physics just aren't there yet for boys <80 lbs to hit it 225', 200' maybe, but not 225'.
I know of two boys who are exceptions, but I'd estimate that 90% of homers I've seen were hit by 100+ pound boys.
What are you seeing? |
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G-Man
326 Posts |
Posted - 03/24/2010 : 01:21:21
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quote:
Originally posted by bmoser
Anyone seeing homers being hit by small or average sized boys? I don't see that very much. Seems like 80 pounds is the magic weight right now. The physics just aren't there yet for boys <80 lbs to hit it 225', 200' maybe, but not 225'.
I know of two boys who are exceptions, but I'd estimate that 90% of homers I've seen were hit by 100+ pound boys.
What are you seeing?
I agree bmoser. You see most of the time kids above 100lbs hit homers. Most of those kids because of their size are able to lift the ball out. I personally think too much weight is put on kids who hit the ball out. A ball a mile high in the air is impressive but still an out if it doesnt clear the fence.
I personally like those kids that hit hard line drive shots. Most of these home runs we see now are going to be nothing more than fly ball outs once you hit the big field. There was a 10 year Major League study done on hitting that showed. Fly balls accounted for a 180 batting average, Balls hit on the ground accounted for a 310 batting average and line drive balls accounted for a 380 batting average over this 10 year period. So the moral of the story is hit the ball low and hard you will have great success.
The second factor you have to look at with kids hitting the ball out of the park. They all are doing it with drop 10 or lower baseball bats. Once most of these big for their age power hitters have to pick up a drop 5 or drop 3 baseball bat, there goes their power and bat swing speed along with the difficulties of maintaining their hitting mechanics because of the heavier bat weight. My son even though he just turned 11 a week ago and under 80 lbs swings a drop 5 31/26 and a drop 3 32/29 now in tournaments. I do this because one he is able too but also I know the difficulties ball players will face when they have to swing something other than a drop 10 bat. Its a major transition no matter what your size.
Look at the elite teams that have a lot of power hitters when they have to play wood bat tournaments. You see run totals fall significantly along with batting averages. I have a theory on this. I believe because most of these young men have been swinging a drop 10 baseball bat that since they have to pick up in most cases a wood bat thats either a drop 3, 4 or 5 in wood they struggle with swing mechanics, hand speed, bat speed and power. Its easy to maybe get a drop 10 bat around on a pitcher throwing 70 mph but the trick is do you have the mechanics/hand speed to get a drop 3 or 5 bat around on that same pitcher.
Home runs are impressive and as fathers we love to see our kids hit them. However I personally think too much weight is placed on the home run ball. Teach them to hit the ball low and hard and they will not only have success now but also in the future when it really matters.
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stinger
120 Posts |
Posted - 03/24/2010 : 07:53:39
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quote:
Originally posted by bmoser
Anyone seeing homers being hit by small or average sized boys? I don't see that very much. Seems like 80 pounds is the magic weight right now. The physics just aren't there yet for boys <80 lbs to hit it 225', 200' maybe, but not 225'.
I know of two boys who are exceptions, but I'd estimate that 90% of homers I've seen were hit by 100+ pound boys.
What are you seeing?
I agree with this observation. I did see 2 Grand Slams this weekend hit by two different Sandy Plains kids at ATPP (which is small for 11u) by smaller kids. That team can really hit and they are not very big.
There's a kid on the EC Titans that also has put a few out that appears to be in the 80-90 lb range. Other than that, the rest of the HRs I've seen have been 100 lb + kids.
Somebody mentioned earlier that the kid from HP-Lawson may be the best hitter in the state. After this weekend, I might agree. He is big, but his balls go so far if he was 80 lbs, he'd still be cranking them. As he's just one on that team that can go deep, but his balls seem to keep on going. A little more pitching and defense on that team and they are a perennial finalist.
I can't think of any other smaller kids hitting them out but I've seen a lot hit the fences that I'm sure will be flying out when it's a little warmer and they're a little stronger. |
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fourseam
162 Posts |
Posted - 03/24/2010 : 09:52:23
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| We had one of the smallest on our team put one out a couple of weeks ago at the Choo Choo Classic. <90lbs and about 4'8". Cleared by about 20 feet or so. |
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PATbb
58 Posts |
Posted - 03/24/2010 : 09:56:42
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GMAN: Once most of these big for their age power hitters have to pick up a drop 5 or drop 3 baseball bat, there goes their power and bat swing speed along with the difficulties of maintaining their hitting mechanics because of the heavier bat weight. My son even though he just turned 11 a week ago and under 80 lbs swings a drop 5 31/26 and a drop 3 32/29 now in tournaments. I do this because one he is able too but also I know the difficulties ball players will face when they have to swing something other than a drop 10 bat. Its a major transition no matter what your size.
When is the best time/age to go to the Drop 5 from the Drop 10? would you do this in mid season?
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oldschooldad
203 Posts |
Posted - 03/24/2010 : 10:51:37
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quote:
Originally posted by PATbb
GMAN: Once most of these big for their age power hitters have to pick up a drop 5 or drop 3 baseball bat, there goes their power and bat swing speed along with the difficulties of maintaining their hitting mechanics because of the heavier bat weight. My son even though he just turned 11 a week ago and under 80 lbs swings a drop 5 31/26 and a drop 3 32/29 now in tournaments. I do this because one he is able too but also I know the difficulties ball players will face when they have to swing something other than a drop 10 bat. Its a major transition no matter what your size.
When is the best time/age to go to the Drop 5 from the Drop 10? would you do this in mid season?
How about moving to a -8 bat first? Many on the market that help a small player with power but also allows for good bat speed.
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baseballdoc
73 Posts |
Posted - 03/24/2010 : 12:08:36
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I have often heard the statements "wait until he gets on a bigger field" or "wait until he gets to see better pitching" or "wait until the other kids get bigger and catch up" or more recently, "wait until he has to use a heavier bat". I agree with these statements for the most part, but not completely. My son, who is not that big, has been routinely hitting balls out of the park since age 6. He hit his first HR over a 250 ft fence when he was just barely 10 years old. Since then, before and after reaching a weight of 100 lbs, he has hit too many to count HRs over 250 ft fences. It is not necessarily the weight of the kid, nor the type of bat, it is batting technique. Yes, G-Man, many of the high fly-balls hit today would be outs on a larger field. However, by the time these 11 year-olds reach a "bigger field" those high fly balls will be even higher and more importantly, farther [and yes, over the fence].
Once again, my son uses a small barrel bat 31/21 [drop 10]. However, at Cooperstown he was given a big barrel bat to use for the first time at the King of Swat competition and hit it over the stands and eventually took 3rd place after several tie-breakers. Did the bat matter? More recently, at a wood bat tournament in Miami, he hit a long home run with a cheap wood bat he had never used before. Did the material of the bat matter?
So, yes, G-man some of your statements are correct, however, they don't always apply. Parents whose kids don't hit many home runs try to down play this accomplishment. A timely hit, whether a line-drive or a bloop single, is extremely rewarding and an important and exciting part of baseball. However, if that hit turns out to be a home run it is even more very exciting! It is something that not every player can do, except if you're on MBA
quote:
Originally posted by bmoser
Anyone seeing homers being hit by small or average sized boys? I don't see that very much. Seems like 80 pounds is the magic weight right now. The physics just aren't there yet for boys <80 lbs to hit it 225', 200' maybe, but not 225'.
I know of two boys who are exceptions, but I'd estimate that 90% of homers I've seen were hit by 100+ pound boys.
What are you seeing?
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baseballpapa
1520 Posts |
Posted - 03/24/2010 : 12:36:19
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Patbb is right on target with the comments on the drop 3 or drop 5 versus the drop 10. My grandson hits the ball as far as any in the nation at 11U and has used a drop 5 bat for 2 years now. Once he got accustomed to swinging the heavier bat the further the ball seems to go but he struggled with the heavier bat for a short while. He hits home runs and that is fine with his Papa but I have always been more interested in the mechanics of his swing and his batting average and a low strike out ratio than I have home runs. The Bandit philosophy if you could call it a philosophy is to be patient at the plate, put the ball in play, hit behind the runners, bunt well when asked, and keep the strike outs low and if none of the above works just go ahead and hit it out of the park. It's worked pretty good so far.
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BREAMKING
323 Posts |
Posted - 03/24/2010 : 15:09:45
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| Guys think back to when you played at this age. I never saw that many homers as we are seeing now. They definitely did not go as far and by as many different players. I do not think the pitching is that much worse that is used to be. Has to be the bat and ball. Something just does not add up. I got some of my old metal bats from back in the day when big barrels first came out. They are very heavy compared to todays bats and as you can tell last a lifetime. Something is wrong when bats only last one season. I have had them all and now only buy metal bats since that is the only ones I have seen we can pass down to the younger brother. |
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G-Man
326 Posts |
Posted - 03/24/2010 : 16:44:13
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quote:
Originally posted by PATbb
GMAN: Once most of these big for their age power hitters have to pick up a drop 5 or drop 3 baseball bat, there goes their power and bat swing speed along with the difficulties of maintaining their hitting mechanics because of the heavier bat weight. My son even though he just turned 11 a week ago and under 80 lbs swings a drop 5 31/26 and a drop 3 32/29 now in tournaments. I do this because one he is able too but also I know the difficulties ball players will face when they have to swing something other than a drop 10 bat. Its a major transition no matter what your size.
When is the best time/age to go to the Drop 5 from the Drop 10? would you do this in mid season?
Patbb: I would work in to it. If it was my son I would take him to the cages as often as possible and have him use either a drop 5 or 3 bat. Watch his mechanics and make the mechanical adjustments as needed with the heavier bat. Its not going to happen over night. Those that have to pick up these heavier bats will get fatigued quickly if they are not use to the weight but over time their endurance will increase. Along with wrist and forearm strength . As papa said the heavier the bat the further the ball will travel if you have the strength, bat speed, hand speed and solid mechanics to go along with it.
Most home run hitters that I have seen at this age group use their arms mostly. The reason they are able to is because of the low bat weights. However once these young men have to pick up that drop 3 bat the legs will play a more important role along with solid mechanics. So now is a good time to make sure they are using their legs and not just their arms.
Doc: Yes they are 11 but almost 12 for most of the MBA team so in a little more than another year you will get to see for yourself. I know your son can hit home runs now I have seen him do it but I think you are going to be surprised when they have to do it on the big field with drop 3 bats. (F = ma). So, the faster we can accelerate a heavier bat, the better the Force put on the baseball, and the farther it'll go. If we swing too light of a bat (less mass), and swing it really fast, we won't maximize our Force output; likewise for if we use too heavy a bat and cannot accelerate it very quickly.
By the way I am not by any means suggesting that this is the case with all power hitters at this age group. There are several kids I have seen with very solid mechanics and size that could swing a drop 3 bat now but dont.
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baseballdoc
73 Posts |
Posted - 03/25/2010 : 08:55:05
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Most of the MBA players are not "almost 12" as G-Man indicates. The number of players on MBA 11u who will be 12 years of age by the time we play at the Elite-32 World Series is no different than any other 11u team! There are several players who will not reach their 12th birth day until the next Fall season.
When these kids reach league age 13, they will be more than ready for the "big field" and will be swinging the heavier bats just as they are currently swinging the lighter ones. Most of our players swing heavy bats, at times with weights attached, during batting sessions.
Thanks for the Physics 101 lesson!
quote:
Originally posted by G-Man
quote:
Originally posted by PATbb
GMAN: Once most of these big for their age power hitters have to pick up a drop 5 or drop 3 baseball bat, there goes their power and bat swing speed along with the difficulties of maintaining their hitting mechanics because of the heavier bat weight. My son even though he just turned 11 a week ago and under 80 lbs swings a drop 5 31/26 and a drop 3 32/29 now in tournaments. I do this because one he is able too but also I know the difficulties ball players will face when they have to swing something other than a drop 10 bat. Its a major transition no matter what your size.
When is the best time/age to go to the Drop 5 from the Drop 10? would you do this in mid season?
Patbb: I would work in to it. If it was my son I would take him to the cages as often as possible and have him use either a drop 5 or 3 bat. Watch his mechanics and make the mechanical adjustments as needed with the heavier bat. Its not going to happen over night. Those that have to pick up these heavier bats will get fatigued quickly if they are not use to the weight but over time their endurance will increase. Along with wrist and forearm strength . As papa said the heavier the bat the further the ball will travel if you have the strength, bat speed, hand speed and solid mechanics to go along with it.
Most home run hitters that I have seen at this age group use their arms mostly. The reason they are able to is because of the low bat weights. However once these young men have to pick up that drop 3 bat the legs will play a more important role along with solid mechanics. So now is a good time to make sure they are using their legs and not just their arms.
Doc: Yes they are 11 but almost 12 for most of the MBA team so in a little more than another year you will get to see for yourself. I know your son can hit home runs now I have seen him do it but I think you are going to be surprised when they have to do it on the big field with drop 3 bats. (F = ma). So, the faster we can accelerate a heavier bat, the better the Force put on the baseball, and the farther it'll go. If we swing too light of a bat (less mass), and swing it really fast, we won't maximize our Force output; likewise for if we use too heavy a bat and cannot accelerate it very quickly.
By the way I am not by any means suggesting that this is the case with all power hitters at this age group. There are several kids I have seen with very solid mechanics and size that could swing a drop 3 bat now but dont.
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G-Man
326 Posts |
Posted - 03/25/2010 : 12:51:30
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quote:
Originally posted by baseballdoc
Most of the MBA players are not "almost 12" as G-Man indicates. The number of players on MBA 11u who will be 12 years of age by the time we play at the Elite-32 World Series is no different than any other 11u team! There are several players who will not reach their 12th birth day until the next Fall season.
When these kids reach league age 13, they will be more than ready for the "big field" and will be swinging the heavier bats just as they are currently swinging the lighter ones. Most of our players swing heavy bats, at times with weights attached, during batting sessions.
Thanks for the Physics 101 lesson!
quote:
Originally posted by G-Man
quote:
Originally posted by PATbb
GMAN: Once most of these big for their age power hitters have to pick up a drop 5 or drop 3 baseball bat, there goes their power and bat swing speed along with the difficulties of maintaining their hitting mechanics because of the heavier bat weight. My son even though he just turned 11 a week ago and under 80 lbs swings a drop 5 31/26 and a drop 3 32/29 now in tournaments. I do this because one he is able too but also I know the difficulties ball players will face when they have to swing something other than a drop 10 bat. Its a major transition no matter what your size.
When is the best time/age to go to the Drop 5 from the Drop 10? would you do this in mid season?
Patbb: I would work in to it. If it was my son I would take him to the cages as often as possible and have him use either a drop 5 or 3 bat. Watch his mechanics and make the mechanical adjustments as needed with the heavier bat. Its not going to happen over night. Those that have to pick up these heavier bats will get fatigued quickly if they are not use to the weight but over time their endurance will increase. Along with wrist and forearm strength . As papa said the heavier the bat the further the ball will travel if you have the strength, bat speed, hand speed and solid mechanics to go along with it.
Most home run hitters that I have seen at this age group use their arms mostly. The reason they are able to is because of the low bat weights. However once these young men have to pick up that drop 3 bat the legs will play a more important role along with solid mechanics. So now is a good time to make sure they are using their legs and not just their arms.
Doc: Yes they are 11 but almost 12 for most of the MBA team so in a little more than another year you will get to see for yourself. I know your son can hit home runs now I have seen him do it but I think you are going to be surprised when they have to do it on the big field with drop 3 bats. (F = ma). So, the faster we can accelerate a heavier bat, the better the Force put on the baseball, and the farther it'll go. If we swing too light of a bat (less mass), and swing it really fast, we won't maximize our Force output; likewise for if we use too heavy a bat and cannot accelerate it very quickly.
By the way I am not by any means suggesting that this is the case with all power hitters at this age group. There are several kids I have seen with very solid mechanics and size that could swing a drop 3 bat now but dont.
Anytime Doc. Thats another issue all together. Swinging bats with weights on them during batting practice. Its one thing to swing a bat with a weight on it but to try and use proper hitting mechanics with a weight on the bat during batting practice. Not a good idea. That weight is not distributed equally along that bat so therefore it creates unnatural muscle memory and depending on the weight can and will put unhealthy strain on the elbow and wrist. |
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baseballpapa
1520 Posts |
Posted - 03/25/2010 : 18:22:16
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Sometimes you guys get a little to technical for Papa. I am an old school type guy. When I played the team in the field left their glove and you played with the glove that was in your position when you got to the field. We grabbed whatever bat we could get our hands on and Coach would say "See the Ball and Hit the Ball". That's all there was to it in my day and I did all this without a professional instructor as I believe my Coach was a Jeweler when he wasn't coaching.
Now it's a drop this or drop that bat, shaved bats, high tech metals and souped up balls. The equipment might have changed but I promise you the game is the same. And that's forgetting about uniforms. My grandson has $1000 dollars or better in his equipment and Papa played the same game for a $3 T-shirt. |
Edited by - baseballpapa on 03/25/2010 22:04:48 |
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mfrank010
1 Posts |
Posted - 03/28/2010 : 18:10:53
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| The Sharon Springs White team had a player hit two homers last weekend way up and over a 225 field. Two at bats in a row.. :-) |
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hotbat12
6 Posts |
Posted - 03/28/2010 : 20:57:04
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I heard in the ATPP tournament the Rookies had a kid to hit a total of COUNT THEM 5 and a team total of 8 homeruns . They also won the tournament as well. Way to go guys coach Jeff still has alot of work to do but the Rookies seem to be getting better.
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bmoser
1633 Posts |
Posted - 03/29/2010 : 07:22:57
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When I first told you all about the Rookies, some fired back "Fall is meaningless" and totally disregarded my analysis...remember?
...and, who was the only team to beat the Rookies last Fall to all you "Fall is meaningless" crowd? That's right, my "mystery Green team" (see pre-season picks) the Collins Hill Eagles (see Nations Invitational results).
Fall matters, but you have to go to the games, know who the Spring players are, and watch how others match up against them. The rest is just clutter.
quote:
Originally posted by hotbat12
I heard in the ATPP tournament the Rookies had a kid to hit a total of COUNT THEM 5 and a team total of 8 homeruns . They also won the tournament as well. Way to go guys coach Jeff still has alot of work to do but the Rookies seem to be getting better.
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gamer13
16 Posts |
Posted - 03/29/2010 : 07:40:54
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| HP Lawson had more homeruns this weekend. 6 to be exact. 19 homeruns in 19 games. One homerun this weekend was at least 250. |
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