PineTar and Aluminum Bats
Lynette Tillner
Pine Tar is rubbed on helmets on purpose. It is so the batter can
touch their helmet during an at bat and refresh the pine tar on their
batting glove to make their grip better on their bat while at the
plate. Watch some of the batters, their between pitch movements are
systematic routines performed over and over again usually -- dig the
dirt with your cleets, pat your helmet, adjust your grip, adjust your
stance.
College ball went to Aluminum bats many years ago. Wood was becoming
expensive, had to be replaced more often (from broken bats) and there
is some danger in broken bats flying (minor compared to the expense
issue at the time, as I recall). I'm thinking that they went
aluminum in the late 60's? Someone might be able to give a better
date than I remember.
Aluminum bats are one of the reasons nay-sayers claim that college
baseball isn't "very good" ball. That and the DH rule. Kind of like
National Leaguers putting down the American League because of the DH.
Does anyone remember when College Baseball went to the DH? Was that
also late 60's? I sort of remember that as well.
Anyway, pine tar is used to make your grip better on the bat. You
will also see the pine tar on the helmets in the majors (and in
softball). Pine tar is used on both aluminum (in college only) and
wood (in pro's only) bats.
In my opinion, batters changing from the aluminum to wood bats is a
big adjustment for these college kids when they go Pro. The minor
leaguers (kids drafted out of High School) use wood bats. High
School and Little Leaguers use aluminum. Using wood bats (in
organized baseball) is limited to the Pro's these days.
HTH
Lynette
(a real BASEBALL AND FOOTBALL fan) -- GO BIG RED!
Lynette Tillner
ltil...@yahoo.com
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Neal Smith
College baseball went to aluminum in the mid-70s. It makes it easier to hit and harder on pitchers. Some of the best players stay away from college for that reason. The aluminum bat makers are in bed with the NCAA and college baseball programs; that is the only reason we still have metal in the college game. It is more dangerous for players and it cheapens the game. It's a money issue in that the makers have bribed colleges to keep their bats in the game. It is also a reason why college baseball is i
nferior to AA minor league ball.
Neal
PS, I think the stuff on the helmets looks tacky and shows a disrepect for the program. SP needs to put a stop to it and make the players use cleaner helmets for the image of the university and the state.
Lynette Tillner
ltil...@yahoo.com
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Jeff Volk
Neal wrote:
:College baseball went to aluminum in the mid-70s. It makes it easier to hit and harder on >pitchers. Some of the best players stay away from college for that reason. The aluminum >bat makers are in bed with the NCAA and college baseball programs; that is the only reason >we still have metal in the college game.
True, economics is the main driving force behind the use of aluminum in college. The primary reason for this is simply the cost of wood bats and how easily they are broken - even the new composite hardwood bats. A secondary issue to that is the sponsorship issue, although the last time I checked Louisville Slugger, the primary provider of metal bats to NCAA teams also does a pretty big business in wood bats - so really the bat companies are making money either way.
:It is more dangerous for players and it cheapens the game.
While I would agree that it is definitely more dangerous, I would stop short of saying it "cheapens" the game. HBO Real Sports did a story in 2002, which has been updated and is airing in the June episode, on the safety of metal bats. It primarily points out what a sham the NCAA's testing and certification program is and how unsafe the bats really are. Without going into great detail, the safest exit speed for a baseball in which the pitcher still has time to react is approximately 80 mph with an aluminum
bat. The NCAA's testing program states that for a bat to be certified it has to meet the same exit speed criteria as a wood bat using the same speed pitch and swing. The test uses a 60 mph pitch with a 60 mph swing speed to create this balance for certification and produce up to an 80 mph exit speed. In the real world however, where 80 and 90 mph pitches are far more common and swings are much harder, an 80 mph pitch can produce exit speeds in excess of 114 mph, giving a pi!
tcher less than .02 of a second to react - in excess of what any human is capable of. Anyway - for those interested watch the piece...like most things on HBO Real Sports it is very well done.
:It is also a reason why college baseball is inferior to AA minor league ball.
This statement is absurd. Aluminum bats have no bearing whatsoever on why college baseball is "inferior" to AA minor league baseball - talent does. Most AA teams are stocked with players who have legitimate shots at making the big leagues - players who were the Alex Gordon's of their respective HS or college teams. With that better level of competition comes a higher level of play and that has nothing to do with aluminum or wood bats. In turn, that is why MLB is a better level of competition than AA...as y
ou move up you increase the skill level and quality of the players.
College baseball is an exciting game - in many ways far more exciting than a AA game...and I would rather watch a College World Series game like the Nebraska - ASU game like the one yesterday than a Springfield Cardinals - Tulsa Drillers AA game ANY TIME! But that is just my .02 cents.
Have a great day.
Sincerely,
Jeffrey Volk