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Online now: 1 member: TABLE SETTER 11; 71 anonymousDiscussion: Senior bats vs. 52/300 ball
| Posted | Discussion |
| April 11, 2015 OZ40 549 posts | Senior bats vs. 52/300 ball Hey fellas, our morning league is comtemplating allowing senior bats this season, however, they are switching to 52/300 balls. So performance wise would you use the senior bats or a bat made to specifically hit the 52/300? |
| April 12, 2015 hemi racer Men's 65 237 posts | When we play in Charlotte they use those 52/300 balls and senior bats are aloud. We have found more success using ASA bats. |
| April 12, 2015 OZ40 549 posts | Thanks hemi. I don't understand the movement to 52/300 balls. Personally, I prefer to actually hear the sharp knock of a ball coming off the bat. They finished up the league last season using the 52/300 and the rumblings around the league were not good. I predict halfway through this season there will be a clarion call for a switch back. |
| April 12, 2015 rdrman66 9 posts | Don't let them do it. Hitting that ball is like hitting a wet tampon. It is going to be a reason why a lot of people will decide it's not's worth playing anymore. Balls die in the outfield and makes the game similar to baseball. If you want to enjoy hitting and almost everyone does, don't let them switch. |
| April 12, 2015 hemi racer Men's 65 237 posts | Haven't tried hitting a wet or dry tampon lately, but as you stated believe I would find something else to do. |
| April 12, 2015 Gorilla Boy Men's 50 271 posts | Here is the thing about these balls and bats. It has been an ongoing battle for over 40 years. Making a bat and ball combination that satisfies the softball arena. You make a bat too hot they change the ball. Make a ball too hot and they change the bat. I am just saying that yes the sound of the ball coming off of the bat is probably the one thing that can make a hitter happy or put a frown on their face. They like to hear the click. For senior softball you need a 44/375 ball and that will keep everybody happy. Let the younger players use the 52's. All they (younger players) have to do is fine tune their swings a little bit more with some extra batting practice. Before you know it the bat companies will make a bat to contend with the 52's. They have been working on it for awhile now. Leave the 44/375's for seniors and senior bats. The less you try to force the seniors to use other bats you will only hear complaints. If I am a rec director or a association director, the less headaches at the end of the day the better off we all are. Just my opinion..... Mighty Mike Macenko aka: Gorilla Boy.... |
| April 13, 2015 OZ40 549 posts | The reason for the 52/300 I hear most is safety. I wasn't aware that players were dropping like flies due to the 44/375 ball. I guess that's what happens when lawyers get involved. Gee, maybe my senior hockey team should start using a softer puck! |
| April 13, 2015 JB77301 Men's 50 26 posts | Personally I don't have a senior league so I play against the young men and see no problem with these balls. I can still hit them out of the 315 park we play at swinging a DC41. |
| April 13, 2015 JB77301 Men's 50 26 posts | Are the senior bats that hot? If so I'm not sure if I would feel comfortable swinging it. I used the ultra ll when it was legal years ago and that bat was sick then. |
| April 14, 2015 OZ40 549 posts | We play in the upper division of our league so we are hoping that the lower divisions will use the 52/300 and the upper division can use the 44/375 ball we see in tournaments. Seems like a no-brainer compromise to me. |
| April 14, 2015 crusher Men's 75 524 posts | One of the Dallas area day league just selected the 52/300. Feels like a mush ball. After 2 games have only seen 1 guy hit a decent line drive. Mixture of older ASA and Senior bats. Reason it was selected was rumor that the 44/375 would destroy the New Bats that works better with the 52/300 balls ?????? |
| April 14, 2015 JB77301 Men's 50 26 posts | Try using the Demarni Stone synthetic |
| April 14, 2015 OZ40 549 posts | I know when the hot steamy dog days kick in here in Michigan the 52/300 will be like an over ripe piece of fruit coming off the bat. |
| April 14, 2015 tattooball 774 posts | Not if you have a good one, they will out hit .44/375 balls on real hot days. |
| April 14, 2015 DCPete 409 posts | In our different local leagues we've found when it's over 75 degrees a 44/375 ball using an old single-wall metal bat like a DeMarini white steel will outhit the 52/300 ball using a high-end composite like a Z2000. Which is why a lot of the young guys using the 52/300 are shaving their bats (allegedly). |
| April 15, 2015 OZ40 549 posts | What? I thought one of the reasons ASA went to a 52/300 was so the guys with shaved bats would not hit it as far or hard. What gives? |
| April 15, 2015 DCPete 409 posts | Oz, while that may have been the "official" reason the Shavers would disagree plus even if they're wrong they think their shaved bats hit the ball farther. But the "real" reason for the 52/300 is that it's supposed to be designed to be safer than the 44/375 if a fielder gets hits by a batted ball. |
| April 16, 2015 AJC Men's 60 218 posts | I'd have to agree with Oz. Dirty bats have been a problem before the 52/300 ball have been the ball of choice by Rec leagues. The reason they went to the 52/300 ball was for player safety. A shaved bat and a 44/375 ball in the hands of a 20-30 year old can be downright dangerous. |
| April 16, 2015 OZ40 549 posts | Guys, that speaks to a statement I made earlier in this thread in that our senior league is going to the 52/300. The point I made earlier was: I wasn't aware that players were dropping like flies due to the 44/375. (they aren't, just the usual hops and bumps one knowling takes on when they enter the diamond) And shaved bats are not a problem in our senior league and obviously there are no 20 or 30 year olds playing to deal with. |
| April 16, 2015 TAT22 74 posts | I sure miss the old days of aluminum alloy bats and blue dots, sure you had guys that shaved the walls but your bat wouldn't last long and you could tell when it was done, it was DENTED! Plus you could recycle it! I would love to see a senior tourney with single wall aluminum alloy bats and blue dots, just once. |
| April 16, 2015 Sparky.1 Men's 75 284 posts | Agree with TAT22........It would bring back to earth "those" players that in their senior years, NOW believe that THEY TOO are HOME RUN POWER HITTERS! |
| April 17, 2015 Omar Khayyam 1357 posts | Sparky.1, right on. When I bought my first Miken, I, too, began to hit home runs—some over the fence and others gappers on deep fields. The difference was that I didn't believe I was a HOME RUN POWER HITTER. I had never been one (not once) in my first 50 years of softball, so why would I believe that suddenly as an old geezer I was one? It's the bat. And because hundreds, probably thousands of older players like me are now hitting the long ball when they couldn't before, it has spoiled the game a bit for me. I'd love to play in an aluminum bat tournament. Sadly, many of my fellow players my age have left the game because of the inflated hitting, just as lots of bowlers like myself left the bowling game in disgust when grooved lanes and soft balls and light pins became the norm. It ruined bowling. I hope it doesn't do the same for softball. |
| April 17, 2015 Sparky.1 Men's 75 284 posts | Been amazed for the past 3-years Omar as a Sponsor, watching players that I pitched & managed against back in the good 'ol days that couldn't hit a Golf Ball out and now in their Golden Years, have become the second coming Babe Ruth and are seeing the game through "Rose-colored Glasses" on just how good they think they are. You brought up Bowling which is a great example as well and what about Golf? The $$$$$ is flying because the equipment is developed and we have been suckered into believing that we have become a big-time athlete and now in our Golden Years, we can become a Player that back in the 'olden days, we were always envious of. |
| April 17, 2015 tg69 393 posts | Sparky, Viagra and senior bats have a lot in common.They both make you do at 50 what you couldn't do at 25. |
| April 17, 2015 DOERBAUM Men's 55 86 posts | SOMEBODY PLEASE EXPLAIN TO ME WHY "SENIOR BATS" ARE THAT MUCH BETTER.... IF THE BPF IS ONLY 1% HOTTER THAN THE OLD 1.20 BPF, THAT TRANSLATES TO 3 EXTRA FEET ON A BALL THAT LANDS AT THE BASE OF THE FENCE, AND IT HITS HALF WAY UP THE FENCE. SOMETHING ELSE HAS TO BE GOING ON. AS TO THE BALLS, ANY BALL WILL TRAVEL IF YOU HIT IT GOOD. NOT ALMOST GOOD, BUT ON THE SCREWS. PLAYED IN WINTER HAVEN THIS MORNING WITH A HEAT INDEX OF 84 AND REAL TEMP OF 80. SECOND AT BAT USED MY BRAND NEW NIGHTMARE (6 TOTAL SWINGS ON IT) AND HIT A LINE DRIVE ABOUT 330 DEAD INTO A 10MPH WIND WITH A 44/375 TRUMP. MY QUESTION IS, WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN DIFFERENT HAD I BEEN HITTING A 52/300 BALL? |
| April 17, 2015 Sparky.1 Men's 75 284 posts | tg69: An't that the truth! |
| April 17, 2015 Sparky.1 Men's 75 284 posts | As long as we keep shelling out the $$$$$, they both will give us the illusion of youth......and cover up one's true talent! |
| April 17, 2015 ju25 Men's 60 236 posts | Dave, Senior bats are hotter than other associations 1.20 bpf because they are tested differently. Senior bats only test the COP(Center of percussion) basically center of barrel where sweetspot is supposed to be and are tested out of wrapper. Other associations(USSSA) test the whole barrel and after a number of swings have been put on bat. Composite bats improve in performance with more swings on them and will exceed 1.20bpf. As far as the difference with a 52/300 ball and 44/375 your linedrive would have probably stayed in the park. Pretty hard to square up a 52/300 ball and get great distance. If you hit them slightly under center and create spin they will travel. Also depends on what 52/300 ball you are hitting. The new stamp USSSA bat are supposed to be made to unravel when they will exceed 1.20, while older models can and will exceed 1.20 after many swings. |
| April 17, 2015 Omar Khayyam 1357 posts | sparky.1, I think you will agree that we admired long ball hitters back in the day for several reasons—all legit. Some were gifted by God with a physique or musculature (powerful wrists, for example) that gave them a lot of natural power. Some worked out and built a physique that nature did not gift them with. Some worked on their swing and technique for untold hours to get extra distance. In every case, it was a thing of beauty to see the ball clear a 250 foot fence (the norm then) with a wooden bat. I admired them all. But I have much less admiration for the poor technique, beer-bellied, show-up-only-at-tournament players who clear the fence because they are using the hottest senior bats. And for those who shave a bat for distance, I have contempt, not admiration. |
| April 18, 2015 Sparky.1 Men's 75 284 posts | and it's what I have eluded to for the past few years Omar...........The $$$$ between the Bat Manufactures and those in the "power seats" for Senior Ball have together, developed a "youth nectar" that is being sold to seniors to make them feel the power they never had in their hey-day. It's the same "power trip" that professional sports uses.......They pay each other a ton of $$$$$$ and we as fans, just keep on buying the tickets regardless of the cost. We the seniors are the ones that should take the blame because like cattle, "we just moo and move along" and keep spending the big bucks for bats, balls and tourneys because they are the only thing available and we are too scared or dumb to challenge what should be, an extension of our "recreational softball" of the past. They (bat manufactures & senior softball) keep pocketing the $$$$$ while we (the players) keep jumping through the hoops and opening up our wallets. |
