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| Jan. 28, 2018 laramie55 | Topic: Bats Discussion: What Became of 30+ Ounce Bats? Got a price in mind?A red Miken Ultra II in a 30oz was my first senior bat swing. I was the 'new guy', hadn't played in ages, and was hitting pretty good with my OG Demarini in 30oz when a fella hands me the red miken and says, "Try this, it has a little crack on one side so don't worry about breaking it." After fouling one straight back I hit the next one off a telephone pole in the parking lot and bought myself one the next day. I bought that Demarini bat directly from Ray (in'89? He said he was 'in the garage'.) when I found his ad (about the size of your thumbnail) in the back pages of a sports mag while hunting custom glove makers. All it said was 'Custom Bats', a phone no. and his name. Ray was very gracious with his time and after a half hour conversation on hitting in general and bat speed (being a Williams disciple I totally concurred) vs mass, and he taught me something new when he talked about how the thinness of his aluminum barrel walls produced a trampoline effect. I let Ray talk me into one at 30 oz (Which was the heaviest he offered but Ray really, really wanted me to try a 26oz.) but I felt coming off a 38oz Easton that had infielders on the next diamond picking up my fly balls, dropping 8oz was enough for a speed increase significant enough to see greater distance and it was. It was a pleasure talking to Ray way back then and today I consider it an honor. He did great. |
| Dec. 11, 2014 laramie55 | Topic: Bats Discussion: non-senior bat question I don't have experience with the Miken Freak 52 and DeMarinis Juggernut but like Alan and I were saying in another thread the Miken DC-41 supermax is one sick bat. I have a 2014 and I think Alan was testing the newest 2015. I don't need to use my senior bats in BP and can save them for games. Pretty near senior bat performance, meaning they still go out, you just don't have to walk quite as far to get 'em and you get to say, " Don't need no senior bat." |
| Dec. 8, 2014 laramie55 | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: BATS COMPARE Wish Miken would bring out a senior bat with their Ultramax El (1.5oz, used on the KF-30 Filby u-trip bat). I may be misremembering but was the Triad tech added to the second batch and not included in the first? |
| Dec. 5, 2014 laramie55 | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: BATS COMPARE Thanks for the feedback cyborg45 as I am planning on retiring my reds and have been debating between the white (with Triad technology!) and the Big Cat which has the EL I prefer but apparently does not have the triad tech. I use the supermax loading in my USSSA bat and prefer it over the smaller maxload too. Glad they made the Big Cat. |
| Dec. 5, 2014 laramie55 | Topic: Bats Discussion: Best bat for a line drive hitter What cyborg45 said and also consider choosing something with an end load. So long as you still can maintain bat control i.e., putting the bat on the ball where you want to, even a half oz EL will aid in a more effective bat/ball collision which will give a higher batted ball speed and make it more likely to shoot the OF gaps. I prefer a full oz (and want to try an ounce and a half) but that's me. See if some of the guys will let you try a little sampling of their bats while following cyborg45's advice. |
| Dec. 5, 2014 laramie55 | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Home plate Mat size change? Bob, I think that trend upward will continue for some time as the late boomers continue to arrive. I didn't start playing with seniors until I was 55. I was playing with the younger guys and holding my own until around 49-50 when the wheels slowly started coming off and I lost a step... and then another and so on. I wasn't aware of senior softball till I was 54 but sure am glad I found out as I thought my playing days were coming to an end. Turns out there's a long future ahead. Insofar as the rules, they seem quite reasonable and fair. We have all seen how even in MLB there have been complaints by players and fans about various rule changes over the years. Nothing's perfect or ever will be but clearly SSUSA senior ball is not and should not be designed for pitcher's duels or 2-1 and 3-2 ball games however a few pitchers might feel. There are at least 9 other guys (and all the pitchers I know) who want to get their AB's. I hear noises made about wood bat and/or mush ball leagues being out there or at least contemplated. Perhaps that will be the way to go for some players. Holds no attraction for me personally. Play ball! |
| Dec. 4, 2014 laramie55 | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Home plate Mat size change? Gary said, " The pitcher would have more area to throw a waste pitch that could still hit the mat." Gary, if it hits the mat it isn't a "waste" pitch is it? Then, "The larger mat might help the many of us who would rather play with the 1-1 count as I said above might encourge hitters to swing sooner." Hitters already only get to see two pitches if the pitcher wants to throw strikes (and who can't in softball?). And why exactly do I not want to hit the ball on the sweet spot? And why would I want to have to shuffle both feet to do so? I came here to hit- not learn dancing. The so-called time issue is bogus as it is easily addressed by both my post on "courtesy runners" and the ump's ability to do this, "5.10 (3) DELIBERATELY DELAYING GAME". If anyone is in such a hurry to get home (or the bar) maybe you shouldn't have left. |
| Dec. 4, 2014 laramie55 | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: courtesy runners If (so-called) courtesy running was restricted to using only players in the batting order it would reduce the unfairness of having a guy on the roster whose only function is to run. We all have seen the guy ( I didn't say "player") who is trotted out there every inning in the hope that he can score a run when no one else on the team is likely to. Seven innings=improved chance for seven runs. We've all lost a couple hundred games in our lives by seven runs or less. When it's all that player can do with no contribution at bat or playing defense it goes against the spirit of fair play. They're not ballplayers, maybe they can join a senior sprint team. If we draw the line at those who are in the batting order it will cut down on gratuitous courtesy runners, after all under 7.1(1) • BATTER ELIGIBILITY "A team may bat every player in the dugout and on the team roster." There is no reason to have "rabbit only" guys on the roster. We can already have all the EH specialists we want to bat, we don't need to have guys that are "runners only" too. At this point we have scenarios where a guy who only bats gets a hit and is replaced by a guy who only runs. Courtesy running was supposed to be well- a 'courtesy' to the injured or unable to run ballplayer. Now it's a cottage industry for some guys. |
| Dec. 3, 2014 laramie55 | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Home plate Mat size change? Well said, Fred. I noticed that an awful lot of threads where the mat size topic can be squeezed it is and by the same 3 guys. Give it up and learn to pitch, geez. |
| Dec. 3, 2014 laramie55 | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: BATS COMPARE I've still got two red Mikens that are awesome for how fast the ball comes off the bat. One is in it's fourth year of action with over a thousand hits on it. I love that bat but wished it had more end load (maxload= 0.5oz.) so now there is the Miken Big Cat (supermax load= 1oz.) which I will probably get. I haven't seen the one piece red for a real good price but have seen the white and the Big Cat for around a buck and a half on up. |
| Dec. 3, 2014 laramie55 | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Does This Make Sense?? softballnuts is correct. For every hitter there is a point at which the batted ball speed will decrease as you increase your bat weight (or mass as the physicists prefer) because of the decrease in bat speed. Add mass (weight) until you lose no more than 4-5 mph. I talked hitting for half an hour with Ray Demarini back when he was one of the first to understand that bat speed was paramount. Each of us is going to have to find the optimum weight (and if you are a lifelong player, more than once over the course of your life). You can't cheat the laws of physics but you can get them to work for you by adding mass to the end of the bat, i.e, end loading. Again, it's about striking a balance, this time it's about getting the maximum end load and still being able to control the bat. End loading benefits all types of hitters. The data is out there, from numerous sources, just search "physics of baseball/softball bats". |
| Dec. 3, 2014 laramie55 | Topic: General and miscellaneous Discussion: Home plate Mat size change? Actually the strike zone is defined in the rules as 19 x 34-1 1/2 inches and is plenty big. Figure the barrel of senior bats around 12" to 14" and the sweet spot significantly less than that and you see the pitcher has a pretty good area to land on while the hitter has to make adjustments to hit the ball on the sweet spot. The other day I watched an 88 year old just dropping pitches on every edge and corner of the mat with varying arcs, curves, knucklers and deliveries. If you can't hit the mat where you want keep practicing. Not everyone can pitch but I don't see a shortage of guys who can. |
| Nov. 24, 2014 laramie55 | Topic: Rules of the game Discussion: Are walks hits in Senior Softball? Personally, I don't keep track of my batting avg. I see that what some of the above folks want to track is OBP- fine. A well-regarded hitter might draw a walk due to semi-intentional bad pitches, but if a guy is unlikely to hurt you comes up looking to walk my pitcher better make sure he has to swing the bat. Walks are important, they aren't outs and they can put runners scoring position and maybe even rattle a pitcher's confidence but they generally don't drive in runs. (I've gotten walks with the bases-loaded, mostly intentional but it was only 1 run in, not 2, 3, or 4 and the other team was happy to do it.) Walks however do not lead to fielding and throwing errors (In the IF, sure, but especially in the OF) that can get extra runs scored also. So are walks an important a part of the game? Sure. Can you call them hits? You can create a whole new reality if you want but if teammate asks me what this batter did his last time up and he drew a walk I sure ain't going to say, "He got a hit." |
