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Online now: 7 members: 9 ball, Baseball33, Dick6, Golfman, TABLE SETTER 11, dalberghetti, dddcpa; 116 anonymousDiscussion: 70 FT BASES
| Posted | Discussion |
| April 27, 2013 BOB P 11 posts | 70 FT BASES I HAVE FOUND ANY 70 YR OLD MGRS THAT WERE IN FAVOR OF 70 FT BASES DID ANY 70'S VOTE FOR IT??? |
| April 28, 2013 kbl Men's 60 544 posts | BOB P..i am not 100% sure, but i will add my 2c. wherever SSUSA has a tournament and that complex has 70' bases in place, SSUSA will play with 70' bases. I play 65s and dont like them myself. after playing in a tournament in Dover, i found myself not thinking about them much. thanks, ken |
| April 28, 2013 tinman Men's 50 75 posts | I also played in Dover but with the 50's.We turned a record amount of double plays.I hope the 60 and up players don't get injured running faster or throwing harder from further away. |
| April 29, 2013 crusher Men's 75 524 posts | I played 70' bases in Tulsa this weekend. Did not notice any difference. A couple guys thaught they looked longer but not one person had an issue with it. Guess there is a good reason for going to 70' ???? C |
| April 29, 2013 Omar Khayyam 1357 posts | My older team played a tournament with 70 foot bases. The extra 20 feet (home to home) made a difference in stamina over two days. Don't think anyone on my team voted for 70 foot bases. Our complaint last year in Vegas was that we were blindsided when all the fields had dimensions that violated SSUSA rules. Understand the reason for it, but thought it could have been worked out with the field crew, or putting leverage on Vegas officials. Yes, we did turn more double plays, but it about wore our third baseman's arm off...and we were the victims of more double plays as well. |
| April 30, 2013 Webbie25 Men's 70 2414 posts | Omar-we had played Vegas before and played 70 foot bases. I support it strongly-at least for 65 yrs old and under. The increased time in the infield in a game that is as offense oriented as our is, was a much needed change. Infielders are already playing deep because of the bats, and they now have a little extra time to make that play or turn that double play. As far as wearing your arm out, my question is 'Why would you play deeper on the infield?' You are already playing very deep. After watching I have concluded that you are much better off playing at the same depth you played on the 65 foot bases and take advantage of the longer bases rather than increasing your depth by 5 feet and still having the issue of having to hurry throws. By increasing your depth even more you may catch a ball you may not have gotten from 5 feet closer occasionally, but I believe strongly that playing closer and having that extra time on most plays is much more beneficial to the defense, and that extra 5 feet creates a tougher throw, too. These bats have stretched defenses enough, making a slowly hit ball an almost certain hit even for guys with average speed (and speed is a 'relative' term at our age). I believe playing that 5 feet closer will get you many more outs on slow rollers, slightly muffed balls, and double plays than the potential gain from ball flagged down from 5 feet farther back. Plus it takes away the automatic extra base on hits for all except the very fast, which is the way it should be. |
| April 30, 2013 crusher Men's 75 524 posts | Webbie - agree with your points. Found myself at save depth as befor. When I setup first time I looked at 3rd then 2nd and felt like I should back up. Had to resist the urge. I like that most players can not just take the extra base. Those very close plays are now outs. In 20 more years bases will move another 5 feet to 75'.lol C |
| April 30, 2013 curveball Men's 65 705 posts | Stark St. Pizza 70's voted for 70" bases. Just a better game we felt. |
| April 30, 2013 TexasTransplant Men's 70 516 posts | A couple points with reference to some of the posts above without intending to come down on either side of the discussion: If you played 6 games over 2 days, batted 4 times in each game, and hit an inside-the-park HR in each at bat (which most would agree is an extreme example) you would have run an extra 480 feet over a two day period. That can't have much impact on one's endurance. I agree with the strategy of infielders playing at the same depth as with 65 foot bases, but doesn't that negate 70 foot bases as a safety measure and make it more about changing the dynamics of the game? Crusher, the infields in Tulsa were extremely slow due to the wet conditions. A lot of ground balls were fielded that might not have been on faster infields. By the same token, had the ball been getting to infielders quicker, as it would on dry fields, there would have been an opportunity for even more DP's with the longer bases. I'm not sure how that shakes out, but I don't think Tulsa should be taken as conclusive one way or the other. |
| April 30, 2013 Fabe Men's 65 456 posts | I felt that this affected that games more than the homerun totals at last years Vegas Worlds. This base configuration finally gives the defense a little wiggle room! Our senior bats have really changed our game, thus this rule is a good one for the defense. Aloha, Fabe |
| April 30, 2013 Omar Khayyam 1357 posts | Webbie, it is your guess why our third baseman played so deep on 70 foot bases. Habit, I guess. He (and his replacement) are so used to being 10 feet behind the bag to account for the hot bats that he was still 10 feet back, even with 70 foot bases. Other than that, you make a cogent argument for 70 foot bases. TexasTransplant's mathematical formulation is nice on paper, but doesn't relate to my experience running the bases. There is running down to the next base on a close foul ball, then retreating, taking a lead on fly balls or popups, rounding second or third on a single and then being waved back by the third base coach, running for other players (most 70 teams have at least two guys who really need a courtesy runner because of disabilities, and usually another 2 or 3 who could benefit from a courtesy runner at the manager's discretion), and outfielders having to patrol the huge outfields with newer parks built to contain the composites—all take a toll on stamina since outfielders are often the courtesy runners in my experience. |
