TrojHen Rant #1

[TrojHen]

WHY ALUMINUM BATS??

Can someone please answer me this painful question?? College Football and Basketball both seem larger than life. The stadiums, the crowds, the general feel is that of something as big if not bigger than the pro's. NCAA Baseball on the other hand sadly lacks any real enthusiasm or attention from anyone.

For me, I can't get past that one small issue of aluminum bats. It sounds so juvenile and pathetic to hear a ball make that irritating ping sound off of the bat. Foul, grounder, whatever - all sounds the same. Even a solid 450' jack sounds like throwing a fork at the 'fridge!! When Pujols rips one dip off of a wooden bat, its got meat to it and somehow just sounds perfect - like a Zeppelin guitar rif. Until they get rid of those t-ball bats with no acoustic personality, NCAA Baseball will always feel vastly inferior to its professional counterpart.

[brady_44]

I agree with you on the bats. Not only does it seem like little league, it's also more dangerous. I just watched an HBO Real Sports where they investigated the use of aluminum bats and how a lot of the time NCAA standards aren't met. Plust they talked to families who have had kids get injured and some that have even died after being hit. Pitchers don't even have time to react if the ball gets hit right. That's obviously very rare, but I think wood bats are the way to go.

About the enthusiasm from baseball fans I don't really know what to tell ya. The great thing about college football is the action, tradition, and the fact that there are so few games. When there are only 11-13 games being played in a season and most take place on beautiful fall Saturday's, I guess it's just more of an event. Only 7 months to go...

[TrojHen]

Part of what kills me is that USC, despite its status as a perenial national championship contender and the fact that it has the most CWS titles in the nation, gets little attention. It could be argued that USC's baseball prowess is even greater than its football prowess. Still, no one really cares.

[ASU_Husker]

My jaw just dropped as far as it can go. There is NO baseball that is better than college baseball. The ping of the bat is a sound unmatched. I can tell you that college baseball here is HUGE. The College Word Series is one of the greatest sporting events to be involed with, and there are sooo many fans that travel all across the country just to see it. I don't know why college baseball doesn't get the rep. that football and basketball does by ESPN and such, at least until the post-season, but I can tell it's not because they use alum. bats. I hate pro baseball but I am in love with college baseball. I don't really know how to accurately describe myself...but I just have this connection to college baseball. College baseball gets a lot of love in the midwest and the deep south..thats where the majority of the fans are.

The greatest sports game I've ever been too was last years CWS game where Arizona St and Nebraska faced off. Jeff Larish hit back-to-back-to-back homeruns to win the game for Arizona St in the 10th I think. Amazing...

I don't even know what to say.. I just love college baseball and if they ever changed to wood bats it would be the worst thing to ever happen to the sport....

As the late great USC coach Rod Dedeaux said..
"What this has turned into is beyond even my wildest dreams, for eleven months out of the year, most of these people could care less about college baseball. And then it comes time for Omaha."
"When you put together your scheduled for the season, you put down Omaha. It's Omaha. That's what you talk to your kids about -- that's what you're trying to do -- get to Omaha."


LSU is a huge baseball school, but when they don't make the CWS..the LSU fans still come to Omaha.. That says a lot about a sport in my opionion.

[TrojHen]

I can respect your own individual affection for the sport, but the ping has got to go. It emasculates the entire sport. Along with what Brady said, to me its closer to high school ball than it is to MLB.

[ASU_Husker]

Originally Posted by TrojHen

I can respect your own individual affection for the sport, but the ping has got to go. It emasculates the entire sport. Along with what Brady said, to me its closer to high school ball than it is to MLB.

Sorry I can't really explain myself, but you can never take away the ping. It's the greatest sound ever. Granted I do live in Omaha, Nebraska..home of the College World Series..So I may be a bit biased. The CWS is truly an amazing event.

Who likes MLB anyways? Steriods, asinine players, etc. Full of controversy...yuck. MLB sucks...CBaseball should stay far far away from it.

[brady_44]

Originally Posted by ASU_Husker

Granted I do live in Omaha, Nebraska..home of the College World Series..So I may be a bit biased.

That's a whole different story. I've spent a lot of time in Omaha so I know how people feel about it there. I think the point being made is that it's not a countrywide thing. Everybody gets involved in football, March Madness, etc. and the fact that baseball isn't even televised doesn't help things.

Note: I don't like any baseball so I'm also biased. With the exception of spring training games here in AZ where people get in cheap and drink all day.

[Autzen Powers]

I've never seen baseball played w/ aluminum bats, so I guess I can't speak to that, but there's something really exciting seeing a wooden bat crack in half at a game. It's interesting how both sides of the debate seem to center around visceral reactions, which is probably why people feel so strongly about it.