Hope Tal Smith Adds this Factor into His Current “Pace of Game” Study by the Skeeters.
The CWS Finals ran three to four hours on the clock, or so it seemed. The biggest factor to me in slowing down the game was both Vanderbilt and Virginia had the ability to run the count high almost every time, from 2-2 to 3-2, often with multiple full count fouls, before they were done. Rarely did batters try t make contact on first pitches. That may have been influenced by the fact that the 2014 college season has been played with a dead ball, dictating that clubs play small-ball rather than waste a time at bat on on a long fly ball out. Ironically, it was Vandy’s Norwood’s homer in the 8th of the final game taht delivered the Commodores to vistory over Cavaliers. That homer came ff a 97 mph fastball and it was the only home run for either of the finalists in the entire CWS.
What’s the difference between altering the ball or bat to make the batted ball go farther than players using steroids to make the batted ball travel farther?
I asked my son, Neal, that question after Vanderbilt defeated Virginia, 3-2, on a rare collegiate HR in the 2014 final game. Neal immediately answered that “it’s that no one dies,” necessarily, when baseball alters the equipment, but, implicitly, that some are going to die early from the use of steroids,
The CWS broadcasters were reporting that the NCAA will introduce a new ball in 2015 that they claim will travel 20-25 feet further upon contact. At the same time, the NCAA plans to kep the same new ally bays that have reduced the travel distance of the batted ball by 20-25 feet.
Am I missing something? Is there any logic behind actions that seem more like an NCAA political reenactment of an old vaudeville joke:
Customer, To Sam the Tailor: “Hey, Sam, you made the pants too long!”
Sam the Tailor: “OK! Take “em off! I’ll make ’em shorter!”
(next day)
Customer: “Hey, Sam! You made the pants too short!”
Sam: OK! Take ’em off again! This time I’ll cut the basting and make ’em longer!”
Something needs to be done. The new stadium in Omaha is very large and has a prevailing wind that blows into the batters’ faces. And several of the elite college baseball programs have similar new large venues. The Texas Longhorns, for example, hit only 8 home runs in 33 home games in 2014.
Something needs to be done to keep the amateur game at this level from becoming what it probably already is – a slow-moving game that builds slowly around pitching and small ball offenses.
The Pecan Park Eagle 
June 27, 2014 at 7:12 pm |
College baseball certainly has changed. When I first started announcing games back in the SWC days games were often slugfests. They stayed that way until about five years ago when the bats were altered. Apparently they went too far for some, but in reality the players are probably showing what they truly are much more closely now which is great for the pro scouts in evaluating, but not so much for having an entertaining game.
June 28, 2014 at 1:31 am |
The park in Omaha isn’t particularly big. 375 to LCF and RCF, I think 335 down the lines, 405 to CF. The wind blowing in seems to be the problem.
June 28, 2014 at 1:24 pm |
The season is too long. Much like Ncaa basketball there are conference championships which makes the season irrelevant.
Then there is the super regionals which drags on .Classes ended
on May 12 at most universities and baseball was being played until the end of June count me out