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Online now: 2 members: 9 ball, TABLE SETTER 11; 46 anonymousDiscussion: The new Trump softballs
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| July 31, 2008 Walk 192 posts | The new Trump softballs I was given the honor of testing the new trump softballs that Kevin was talking about on here. Kevin sent me 12 of these softballs and today 2 of my friends hit them with me. Now my one buddy who is 60 and is scheduled to have his hips replaced very soon was the first to hit these softballs. He is a base hitter with a little power. He cuts the ball real well and had no trouble hitting line drive basehits and two 305 homeruns. He used the senior Combat and the red senior Combat. I swear he was 18/24. My other friend hits the ball in the face and he could not hit these balls out of the park but he did hit some wicked linedrives. I hit last and used four bats and hit six balls with each bat. My first three swings I hit in the face and the last 3 swings I cut the ball. I did this with each bat for a total of 24 swings. Now remember I just had my left knee replaced May 22 so I am not totaly back to normal. Black and Blue Easton connexion with the mother load. First three swings linedrives that went about 280 feet. Second three swings I cut the ball and hit one about 320 and two others that hit in the 340 range. Senior grey Combat and Red Combtat. I will combine these two bats because they both did about the same. First three swings with each bat I hit in the face. 5 linedrives the went 280ish and one that did get out and went about 310. Second sets of swings. I cut 5 out that went 360 to 400+ feet. The one that went 400+ was with the red Combat. The other hit was a pop up. Last bat was a prototype bat for Combat. First three swings I hit in the face. Two line drives about 280 and one linedrive that hit the fence at 300 feet. Second three swings I cut and hit three homeruns with two going about 360 and one hitting about 380. Now before anyone start to go nuts we hit on a 300 foot fence and used a 300 foot tape to mark cones at 280, 300 (the fence), 320, 340, 360, 380, and 400. The edge of the road behind the fence is 403 feet from home plate. The one I hit that I said was 400+ hit in the middle of the road. Weather HOT and HUMID with no wind. It was 88 degrees with about the same amount of Humidity. We are going to test again tomorrow with more guys different bats and weather that will be hotter. I am not posting to start the problems again I am just posting to let everyone know that if ASA goes to this ball it can be hit without problems you just have to cut it and take a nice easy full swing. Walk |
| July 31, 2008 taits Men's 65 4548 posts | I take it you back east now, recovering, instead of out here. Question: When you say "hit in the face' are you referring to hitting up the middle at ornear the pitcher? Mend and play well. |
| July 31, 2008 BruceinGa Men's 70 3233 posts | BW, Did I read this correctly, ASA balls? What was the cor and comp? It looks as if you are progressing quite well with your knee! |
| July 31, 2008 Walk 192 posts | Taits, Yes I am back in Missouri and have been for awhile. I got a transfer so I came home. When I talk about hitting in the face I am talking about hitting the ball square. I believe they are but Kevin would know more about that than me. But I am sure that is what he said these balls are for. I am not doing bad. I can't run yet and it makes it easier to cut the ball when you really cannot use the front leg like I did in the past. I think this is making me a better hitter. Walk |
| July 31, 2008 mad dog Men's 65 4191 posts | glad to hear your hitting now walk.i've been trying to work on cutting,but i'm having a little prol with it,during games,lot of pop-ups.what can i do off a tee to work on it.where in the down arc of the ball do ya hit it.gonna hit some bp friday will work some more on it. |
| July 31, 2008 Lecak Men's 60 1026 posts | mad dog I'm certainly no expert but I seem to be having some luck with cutting. I purchased some of the evil BP balls (multi colored) and have noticed pitch selection is really important for me at least. You get instant feedback and now I'm looking in a zone. Good luck. |
| Aug. 1, 2008 einstein Men's 50 3112 posts | Here's what I know. Walk and Macenko are legendary long ball hitters, hardly typical senior sluggers. If I and lots of my colleagues can't hit a ball satisfyingly hard it's not worth playing. You can take away(dumb down) the balls or the bats. NOT BOTH. Joe Lecak says pitch selection becomes more important to hitting the new ball well. That means we pitchers' will have a heads up regarding which pitches to avoid throwing in order to minimize batter effectiveness. I have never met a senior softball player, not one who's ever said he wanted to play with a lesser ball. I don't like the direction this ball/bat thing is going to take us. Lesser balls and lesser bats equals less enjoyment and less senior participation at tournaments. I've learned from many senior players that they fundamentally agree with the position that lesser balls will not work in the senior game. I'm tired of having to spend more money on the always new bat/ball compliance standards. My opinion is what counts for me regarding the value and extent of my enjoyment in senior softball and not anyone elses regardless of their stature, prowess or interests. |
| Aug. 1, 2008 taits Men's 65 4548 posts | http://www.evilsports.com/store/images/uploads/EVIL-BP-sml.jpg\ There is a link to the balls, they are 44 cor with mid compression. |
| Aug. 1, 2008 Lecak Men's 60 1026 posts | Joe I haven't hit nor seen the new balls. Any one reading I would love to hit them if someone tells me how to get a hold of some. The softballs I was referring to our the Evil BP balls which have multi colored panels. I'm using them to get some feedback on my swing and the pitches that produce the results that I desire. I'm not a large man and after my recent heart scare if appears that I will be shrinking further in order to control my condition. In order to compete at the level I like I need to make some changes in order to compete with guys 50-75 lbs heavier than me. I have had these BP balls for about 6 weeks and believe they are adding distance and more importantly consistent repeatable distance. I hit about 70 balls last nite and I recall only 2 or 3 knuckleballs. I'll take any edge I can legally obtain at this point. My job will be to outwit the great pitchers that are competing in senior sofball. |
| Aug. 1, 2008 Walk 192 posts | Mad dog e-mail me at home and I will forward you a video that will help a lot. The Evil balls do help and once you learn how to spin the ball it makes hitting the balls used today even better. Joe I am not trying to do anything more but report what some senior players did with this balls. Nothing more than that. I am not saying it is for everyone but if ASA goes to this ball then I would assume it would be at the ASA senior worlds in the future which means those seniors that go to that tournament will have some knowledge on how to hit the ball. It really is nothing to be worried about. The idea behind this ball is that you can use any bat you want. We have tested these balls now with everything from wood bats to Ultra 1's and found the balls fly if you cut them, the linedrive base hits are still base hits but the batted ball speed through the infield and at the pitcher is nothing they cannot handle. Today we tested these balls with young players and senior players. Some had no problem with the balls and some did not like them but what else is new. We used a wooden bat, an old Steele bat, a Easton Ti. bat, a Ritches bat with an 10 ounce end load, Ultra max load, Ultra 2, Virus Enhanced, Titans from Worth, Ultimate Weapon, and todays senior bats and the findings were about the same as stated in my first post. I will tell you this (because if I posted everything we did it would be the post from hell) the longest ball hit and we used today's 44/375 in comparsion was with the new softballs and the senior Combat. I hit this one but the second longest was hit by a younger guy. The weather is hot and humid again. 93 degrees with about 80% humidity. We have an ozone alert here today so that is why we went in the morning. Walk |
| Aug. 1, 2008 Dirty Men's 50 1371 posts | Gump never ceases to amaze. "If I and lots of my colleagues can't hit a ball satisfyingly hard it's not worth playing. You can take away(dumb down) the balls or the bats. NOT BOTH. " He continues to amaze us by his ability to surpass his previous levels of a lack of pride. "Walk and Macenko are legendary long ball hitters" I don't know Walk at all, or who he really is, but you can count on one hand the number of guys whose power belongs in the same sentence as Macenko, and unless Walk is Jim Galloway or Bruce Meade he most likely does not belong. Again, no offense Walk but Gump is known for hyperbole. Why do guys need to hit the ball further in their 50s and 60s than they were in their 20s and 30s? |
| Aug. 1, 2008 udaplaya 90 posts | OK, most of us have been playing baseball/softball for the better part of 40 years or more. Now you are telling me that I need to change my swing to something called "cutting" in order to get the maximum benefit from these new balls that were tested. i think not. I can just see it now on ESPN...MLB is introducing a new baseball that will require hitters to cut the ball for maximum effect. Hard line drives won't carry like they used to, but if players can change their swing to the new "cutting" style, they will be the new bombers. I agree 100% with Einstein. I love to play defense and I love the camaraderie, but I would be fooling myself if I didn't admit that the reason I got back into softball via the senior circuit wasn't to mash good balls with the Ultra, period. Anything that would reduce that factor would not be well received by the majority of players that I know. Players love to hit it, let them do it. And besides, chicks dig the long ball! Furthermore, what is the reasoning/necessity behind the manufacturers making these changes, other than bringing new/more products to the marketplace. No one that I know of is asking for a new ball that requires cutting. Are players getting hurt? Are players complaining about scores? This is the only sport I have ever played that tries to limit or penalize you for doing the very best. Sometimes it is best to just leave well enough alone. If Trump chooses to go in this direction, then lets us Dudleys or Worth balls. |
| Aug. 1, 2008 Lecak Men's 60 1026 posts | udaplaya hopefully some others will help me, I think cutting or whatever it is called has been around for ever. I know for me once the HR limits were instituted at the young man's game I learned a new style of hitting. Some of the swings at the D and C level of ball are comical. I got pretty good at hitting a ball with a full swing down on the handle and dropping a full swing bunt between 3B and the pitcher perfectly legal by the way. I come to Seniors and guess what I can hit the ball over the fence again. I'm just relearning a very old trick. The swing produces tremendous distance by the way. I personally could care less what direction equipment takes it will give me something new to work on in practice. |
| Aug. 1, 2008 #19 Men's 70 302 posts | Some aren't happy unless they are hitting superballs with lead pipes! |
| Aug. 1, 2008 Walk 192 posts | Dirty or Gary I am not here to blow my own horn that was not the point to this at all. The point of this whole post was to tell the seniors how these new softballs work. Kevin gave me the chance to do so and thus I reported the outcome. Not everyone will like the new softballs and many will not care either way about the ball. With that said I do remember how some people on here where upset with the fact we seniors need to buy so many different bats to play in all the associations. Here is a ball that allows to use any bat, a ball that is easy on bats, and brings the game back to where it was. Once again I am not saying this ball is for seniors but I will say it is ball that I would not have a problem using. If you played baseball then you are already cutting the ball and no one is saying anyone needs to change their swing. All that is being said is that cutting the ball the way we did in the 70's 80's and 90's is the best way to hit this ball or any ball. I will put this in cap so everyone who is against this ball will understand. THIS IS NOT A SENIOR BALL!!!! IT IS A BALL THAT ASA MAY USE AND IF YOU PLAY AT THE SENIOR ASA WORLD YOU MAY RUN INTO AND THUS YOU WILL KNOW ABOUT IT. THE SSUSA IS NOT NOW OR EVEN IN THE FUTURE AS FAR AS I KNOW IS GOING TO THIS SOFTBALL!!! JUST FYI. |
| Aug. 1, 2008 mad dog Men's 65 4191 posts | hi walk sent email to ya.ya see gary is still ...weell gary.....bout to take off and work on this cutting and do some bp.it seems to work for u-trip just can't get going with 12' arc's. |
| Aug. 1, 2008 Walk 192 posts | MD the video will explain how to take care of that. I did not do the video. Joe thanks for the putting me in the same sentence with Mike. He is the legend I was just pretty good for around the KC area and senior softball. Guys this ball is not being pitched to any senior association by Kevin or Trump and I am not pitching it as a change. I am just letting everyone know how it hits and its good and bad points. We are going to test it more on Sunday but since it has caused such a problem on here I will just let Kevin know my findings. Walk |
| Aug. 1, 2008 firebird380hp Men's 60 85 posts | I may be wrong but it seems that most everyone is trying to stop people from cheating with painted and jucied bats.But they keep wanting to dumb the balls down and all that does is anyone that will cheat with bats will do it more than with a lively ball. IMO I played a couple weeks ago in cullman nsa senior tourney and the balls there sucked. Why not leave the game alone!! after all were all grown and make our own decision. I know after that cullman tourney our team will never play nsa again!! |
| Aug. 1, 2008 einstein Men's 50 3112 posts | Walk, I've played with and against the best senior softball players on the planet and you can hit the long ball with anyone. So can Ken Van Bogaert, Mike Burbank, Rock, Parnell, Sal and some others. I don't have anything to say to guys/girls who wish to stay anonymous or anyone banned for malingering and inappropriate behavior. They are meaningful non entities to me as far as this message board is concerned. Leave the bats and balls alone for seniors for a million good reasons. Put a fork in us, we're done |
| Aug. 2, 2008 cpope Men's 75 160 posts | Dirty "I don't know Walk at all, or who he really is, but you can count on one hand the number of guys whose power belongs in the same sentence as Macenko, and unless Walk is Jim Galloway or Bruce Meade he most likely does not belong. Again, no offense Walk but Gump is known for hyperbole." Dirty I also don't know you and I AM A NOBODY, but I have played against Meade, Hit with Mike Macenko in a HR Derby contest, don't know Jim but I have seen Walker hit and if he is not in their class he is as close as anybody you will ever know. They are all GREAT hitters for senior ball, wish I had known them when playing in my younger playing days. PS: Mike won the HR contest |
