Word on the Tweet: ABCA in Chicago, New Transfer Rules??

The American Baseball Coaches Association annual convention is underway in Chicago this weekend.  Lots of discussion and creative ideas being knocked about, according to the twitter-sphere.  And, by the way, several College Baseball people you should be following on Twitter among the quotes that follow.

ABCA Convention in Chicago
Photo by Nate Shipp (twitter)

@CoachPietro: On our way to Chicago for the #ABCA convention. @jemens20 caught a big one! http://lockerz.com/s/274296423

@vianneybaseball: Sitting behind @CoachPietro and the rest of the Mizzou Staff at the ABCA Clinic. Impressed to see them locked in getting better

@StLPiratesPitch (former Mizzou Baseball asst coach Brian Delunas): Good first night in Chicago catching up with friends. Looking forward to the speaker lineup the rest of the weekend at the ABCA!

MLB Draft and Agent/Athlete Relationships:

@KendalRogersPG: NCAA Legislative Council is taking a hard look at allowing HS/JUCO players to have agent/advisor representation in #MLB negotiations . . . One thing that's interesting about the agent/advisor relationship: NCAA's Dennis Poppe reiterated that all BSB folks on board with changes. . . With that, this proposal does NOT include eligible sophs/juniors in college. Would prefer to have it include HS/JUCO/those in coll #mlbdraft

@Mike_Rooney: @KendallRogersPG That sounds strange..both sets of kids have same needs.. I'm getting cynical in my old age!!

@AaronFitt: Idea of letting HS and JC players have an agent/advisor for draft negotiations is gaining some traction. Will go before leadership council. . . Very encouraged that NCAA is finally acknowledging difference between baseball and hockey drafts vs "opt-in" drafts in football/basketball.

@JimCalisBA: NCAA "allowing" agents/advisors won't change reality. Just means players won't have to lie about it, NCAA witchhunts can end. #mlbdraft

BBCOR Bats and "Livelier" Balls:

@AaronFitt: ABCA head Dave Kelitz says discussions are ongoing about whether to switch to a livelier ball, or a ball with flatter seams. . . Keilitz said in his survey, 53 percent of coaches want to keep same ball. 47% prefer a livelier ball, and 55 percent want flatter seams.

@KendalRogersPG: According to Dave Keilitz …. 86 percent of college coaches support the BBCOR bat after last season. Pretty impressive and high %.

@KendalRogersPG: ABCA's Dave Keilitz acknowledges Jack Leggett's email about changing #collegebaseball "ball" … might be something to target down road.

@Mike_Rooney: More offensive baseball makes me nervous.. Slippery slope and not sure that #StonyBrook and #KentState happen with old Big Offense set-up

Fall Baseball:

@KendalRogersPG: NCAA says there have been talks by #BigTen #MAC coaches about fall games, but that no action (for now) was possible at this time.

@Mike_Rooney: Can't understand why #CollegeBaseball cannot have same fall ball allowances as softball #Equity

@AaronFitt: D-I baseball committee not prepared to move forward yet with proposal to play fall games that count, but discussion will continue. . . I like some things about it, but it comes with a lot of complications. I like that Northern coaches are thinking creatively. . . It would be completely voluntary. But to reiterate, all this talk is still a long shot, I think.

Post-Season:

@KendalRogersPG: More notes about D-1 meeting. For now, serious talks have ceased on changing NCAA postseason format to three-game series before CWS. . . The NCAA's Dennis Poppe reiterated that "if it isn't broke, don't fix it" approach in regards to postseason format. I agree 100 percent.

@AaronFitt: After a "robust" discussion, committee decided not to seed the top 16 teams, because of concerns about cost and intra-conference SR matchups

@KendalRogersPG: Good news for your conference tourney fans, the NCAA will not announce anything tourney related until Sunday NIGHT now. Was early afternoon. . . For instance, now, if someone like #MSState or whoever is on the fence as a Regional host, winning the #SEC tournament could change things.

@KendalRogersPG: 2013 NCAA Committee: Joel Erdmann (#SouthAlabama), Randy Buhr (#Wazzu), Joey Gallo (#UNC), Rick Greenspan (#Rice), Eric Hyman (#TAMU). . . Also, Dave Hickey (#CMU), Robert Goodman (#CAA), Mark LaBarbera (#Valpo) and chair Dennis Farrell (#BigWest).

@KendalRogersPG: Bad news for you power lovers in Omaha. Poppe said no serious discussions about moving fences in. Wind has killed HR totals . . . Denny Poppe did, however, say that after another year/two in Omaha, NCAA will take a look at power numbers and other things

Odds & Ends:

@KendalRogersPG: Nothing too big from the NCAA Rules meeting in Chicago. Only notable change is suspension for bumping now 4 games (was 3). #collegebaseball

Transfer Rules:

@John_Infante: NCAA considering transfer model that would allow all athletes with a 2.6 GPA to play immediately: http://www.athleticscholarships.net/2013/01/03/new-transfer-model-would-reduce-eligibility-consequences.htm

And check out John Infante's twitter feed where he answers a lot of questions about this possible rules change

SEC Fan's Guide to Mizzou Baseball: The Typical Jamieson Team

Nine random thoughts on the typical Tim Jamieson team:

1. Mizzou recruits heavily from the state of Missouri and areas not far across the border into Kansas, Iowa and Illinois.  The "close the borders" recruiting approach has become even more pronounced since Assistant Coach Kerrick Jackson took over as recruiting coordinator.
   
   The Tigers have, though, shown they have contacts and resources in Oklahoma, Texas, Arizona, California, Louisiana, Minnesota, Wisconsin and the Chicago area, among other places.  The current freshman class includes a player from Georgia.
   
   
2. If Tim Jamieson believes in a player he has shown he will be very patient with him, even though everyone around him is wondering why he doesn't bench him in favor of someone else.  The same holds true for a strategy or long-term plan.  If he believes in it, he will not easily be turned aside from it.  Patience is key to understanding Tim Jamieson.
   
   
3. Tim Jamieson schools his hitters in being patient at the plate, knowing that the average college pitcher has trouble getting ahead on the count and staying ahead.    Long time Tiger watchers will tell you that sometimes the Tigers can be too patient, watching too many strikes go by.
   
   
4. The flip side of the patient hitting is that Jamieson's pitchers are drilled in the importance of getting ahead in the count and staying ahead.  "Fill the strike zone".
   
   
5. As the season begins to wind down, the bullpen gets smaller.  No, not shorter, smaller. By mid to late April, those pitchers that have not met TJ's expectations of reliability simply disappear.  By the post-season, he has shown time and again that he would rather bring back a weekend starter on short rest to pitch an inning or two of late relief than resort to bringing in one of the relievers sitting at the far end of the bench.
   
   
6. Speaking of getting smaller, in the past, Tim Jamieson's rosters tended toward being somewhat smaller in stature.  Jamieson is himself short-statured, and he quite clearly values the undersized player who is scrappy and productive.  However, after comparing the average height on MU's 2012 roster with that of a handful of other SEC squads, it turns out the Tigers are actually trending toward being taller than their opponents.
   
   
7. In the era of the BBCOR bats, Jamieson and his assistants are focused on teaching batters to hit with the new bats and also on teaching the pitchers to pitch to the new bats.  An increased emphasis on fielding, butting and base running are all aimed at the philosophy of offensively playing to get one run in an inning (and take more if you can), and defensively limiting the other team to that one run (or less if possible).  Many of the struggles of the past two seasons are due to the coaches and players readjusting their approach to the game as defined by the new bats.
   
   
8. Over the past few years, Tim Jamieson's teams have learned the secret to preparing for and being motivated to play in the conference tournament.  They played in the championship game of the Big 12 Tournament in 3 of the past 4 years, finally winning it in 2012.  They made it to the championship game in 2011 in spite of hitting only .249 as a team.  This learning experience could be a major step toward becoming a team that can regularly go deeper into the post-season.
   
   
9. MU baseball coaches urge players to let pitch hit them (Columbia Missourian, April 2009)

It’s a philosophy that permeates through the Missouri baseball team from the coaches to the players, even down through the trainers: Take one for the team— let yourself get hit by a pitch.

“We really preach it. We talk about it all the time, and it’s something that’s important to our offense to be able to get on base,” said Tim Jamieson, coach of the MU baseball team.

Jamieson isn’t talking about taking extra batting practice or being patient at the plate. He’s talking about staying in the batter’s box when an inside fastball is thrown a little too inside, when it’s rocketing straight toward your thigh, or maybe your ribs.

He’s talking about taking one for the team — about letting players get hit by a pitch.

College Baseball Numerology

♦ Expected Runs Tables for NCAA Division I (boydsworld.com)

The tables below were created from analysis of play-by-play data for roughly 93% of all D1 games from 2005 to 2008. An update was then done for the 2011 and 2012 seasons to measure the impact of the new bats.

♦ And some explanation and discussion of the statistics at Rivals.com College Baseball Message Board

...The results are predictable overall, but some of the details are surprising (in particular, I'm open to suggestions for an explanation for the increase in scoring with only a runner on third).

♦ PLUS60 Performance Testing Results (Prep Baseball Report, 6/11/2012)

Today, the Prep Baseball Report hosted its first PLUS60 Performance Testing. The event was a combine event that featured the 60 plus Shuttle Run, Broad Jump, Vertical Jump, Med Ball Toss, Exit Velocities, and Throwing Velocities. As we progress into the new-era of BBCOR bats, the face of recruiting has changed and college coaches have started focusing on recruiting all-around athletes. BBCOR bats have significantly decreased the trampoline effect of aluminum; essentially it’s like hitting with a deadened bat with a smaller sweet spot. The college game, once buoyed by the long ball, has turned more to speed and athleticism.

Because of the heightened premium placed on athleticism, PLUS60 Performance Testing gives college coaches quantifiable measureables beyond the basic - and somewhat archaic - 60-yard dash. PLUS60 Performance Testing is designed to give recruiters a more in-depth look at prospects,
providing a standardized baseline for athleticism.

The event was highlighted by a handful of individuals.

Jake Ring, Grant HS, Class of 2013, who ran a 6.69, 4.44 shuttle run. [Trrip Note: Ring has made a verbal commitment to Mizzou]

Top 9 MU Baseball Stories of 2011: The Long Season

9. Jamieson leads USA National Team

Tim Jamieson spent his summer as the head coach of the USA Baseball Collegiate USA National Team, but he wasn't the only Tiger on that team.  Dan Pietroburgo gained some valuable experience as an assistant coach with the team.  And Eric Anderson got a lot of attention by leading the pitching staff with a 2-0 record and 0.00 ERA . . . as an alternate substitute.

8. Tigers sign 10 to National Letters of Intent

The recruiting class for Fall 2012 features an impressive collection of pitchers and position players.  Many are from the St. Louis area (Recruiting Coordination Kerrick Jackson's home stomping grounds), but others came from places like Texas, Iowa and one promising homeboy from CoMo.

7. Tigers play for Joplin

Mizzou played a two-game fall series against Iowa in October, with all proceeds from tickets and a silent auction going to the Joplin Little League.  

6. Phil McCormick sets records in the bullpen

Phil McCormick, who saved his career by re-inventing himself as a submariner, piled up 36 appearances in 2011, tying his own single season record; totaled 72 appearances over 2 seasons, 2010-11, a Mizzou record for appearances in consecutive seasons; and he finished his career with 105 total appearances, good for 3rd all time for Mizzou.  Good enough to grab the attention of the scouts and get himself drafted in June.

5. Jonah Schmidt leads the offense

After three seasons as an all-or-nothing swing-for-the-fences designated hitter, Jonah responded to the challenge of the new "dead" bats (see # 3) in 2011 and led the Tigers in batting average, runs, hits, doubles, RBI, total bases and slugging percentage.   He even earned a shout out on Vox Magazine's 30 under 30.

4. Eric Anderson leads pitching staff

After being limited in his freshman year by injuring, EA began the season as a first baseman, then slowly eased his way back into the pitching rotation, growing in strength and effectiveness to the point of becoming a dominant pitcher in the Big 12.

3. BBCOR Bats

The big story all year long for all of NCAA Baseball was the introduction of the BBCOR bats, which contributed to a significant drop in power numbers throughout Division I.   For better or worse, the college game shifted more toward "small ball", and some teams - including the Tigers - appeared slow to adapt to the difference.  And as many complained during the season, not all the new bats were equal.

2. Tigers fight their way to the Big 12 Championship game

It was a long and difficult season for Tim Jamieson's Tigers in 2011.  But as the season wound down, the Tigers revved things up, gong on a tear in the final weeks.  Knowing that winning the Big 12 Tournament championship was their only hope at getting a bid for the NCAA Regionals, they fought their way into the 8-team field.  Then they played with a passion during the tournament,  including three games against the Longhorns.  The rubber match of that MU-UT clash was one for the history books, as senior Kelly Fick pitched the game of his life (and the final game of his career), wearing the same jersey number as the battered Joplin tornado jersey hanging in the dugout.  Unfortunately, the Aggies ended the Tigers' comeback in the title game, and the season was over.

1. Mizzou jumps to the SEC

Without a doubt, the biggest news of 2011 came to a head long after the baseball season was over.  After an intricate slow dance with the Big 12, the Big Ten and the SEC (with the PAC 12 and ACC doing a two-step in the background), Missouri finally announced in November that MU will join the SEC in 2012.  The impact on the Baseball Tigers will be huge.  We've been taking a look at what it will mean to be a part of SEC Baseball in our SEC-Dixienary series.  But first, the Tigers will play their final Big 12 season in the next few months.

Bat Backlash

♦ alabama baseball team released from Nike contract (Tuscaloosa News)

The University of Alabama, along with every college under contract with Nike, has been released from its obligation to use Nike baseball bats in the upcoming season.

Alabama requested that Nike allow the school to use other manufacturers' bats following the 2010-11 season.

The move came after a Tuscaloosa News report in May revealed a striking difference in the performance of Nike bats as compared to other manufacturers.

♦ Nike's bewildering college baseball bat problems (thepostgame.com)

Of the top 20 teams in home runs last season, not a single one used Nike bats.

Major schools such as Southern Cal, Miami, Alabama, Georgia and Kentucky all used Nike bats and experienced major drops in offensive production. Home runs were 20 percent lower and slugging percentages 44 percent lower for those teams than for the rest of the NCAA.

♦ Nike releases schools from bat obligations (baseballamerica.com)

It will be interesting if other Nike schools—Georgia, Kentucky, Miami, North Carolina and Southern California are five notable ones—elect to stick with Nike bats or switch, and whether their offensive performance is affected. The Tuscaloosa paper reports that those five Nike schools and Alabama hit 20 percent fewer home runs and slugged 44 percent lower than the national average. But how much of that performance gap was a product of the bats, and how much was a product of personnel, or the superior quality of pitching in power conferences, relative to the national average? Cherry-picking statistics—especially when considering a miniscule sample size—inevitably leads to faulty conclusions.

NCAA Rules Changes

The NCAA Rules Committee met recently and has made some interesting changes (link to details):

• Instant Replay: Umpires at the 2012 Men’s College World Series will be able to use instant replay to review specified calls under an experimental rule developed by the NCAA Baseball Rules Committee.
  
  
• RPI Formula: In other action at the Division I Baseball Committee’s meeting, members recommended changes to the Rating Percentage Index calculation that will be applied beginning with the 2013 season.
  
  The revised RPI formula will value each road victory as 1.3 instead of 1.0. Each home win will be valued at 0.7 instead of 1.0. Conversely, each home loss will count 1.3 against at team’s RPI and each road loss will count 0.7 against a team.
  
  
• BBCOR Bats: The baseball committee also reviewed final data in college baseball for the 2011 season that show significant changes in power and run production in the wake of new bat specifications that took effect this year. A detailed NCAA report on the bats is available HERE. or HERE

For more details on the instant replay plan and on the revised RPI math, see NCAA.org Latest News

NCAA Analysis of BBCOR Bats in 2011

The NCAA finally crunches the numbers and draws (or jumps to) some conclusions.

■ New bats are a hit, for some (NCAA.com)

Division I batting average, scoring and home runs per game in 2011 resemble the wood-bat 1970s more than they do recent years. Division I teams in 2011 averaged 5.58 runs per game, well off the record 7.12 in 1998 and below 6 for the first time since 1977 (5.83), which was just the fourth season of the aluminum bat in college baseball.

Home runs left parks at an average of .52 per team per game in 2011 compared with .94 last year and 1.06 in 1998 (also the peak year for that category). That resembles wood-bat days, too (.42 in the last year of wood in 1973, and .49, .50 and .55 in the first three years of metal).

Batting average in 2011 was .282, the lowest since 1976. Earned-run average, on the other hand, was its best (4.70) since 1980 (4.59).
. . .
Games in the 2011 Division I championship (the only part of the season in which the NCAA statistics staff can practically track game times) took about 20 minutes less on average to complete than in 2010. The fastest game in the regionals last year in fact was 2:19, but in the 2011 regionals, 16 of the 101 games were completed in that time or quicker (including two games played in under two hours).

It's about the ball, the bat, the mitt

"I never blame myself when I'm not hitting. I just blame the bat, and if it keeps, up I change bats. After all, if I know it isn't not my fault that I'm not hitting, how can I get mad at myself?" (Yogi Berra)

■ Baseball's power surge drops after introduction of new bats (NCAA.org)

Data from the NCAA statistics staff reveal that in Division I games through April 3 (essentially the midpoint of the season), scoring is down by more than a run per game per team compared with the same time last season (from 6.98 per team in 2010 to 5.63 in 2011), and home runs have dropped from .85 a game per team in 2010 to .47 this year.

Batting average has also declined sharply, from .301 per team at midseason last year to .279 so far in 2011. Conversely, earned-run average has improved, from 5.83 in 2010 to 4.62 this year. In addition, more shutouts have been thrown this year (444) compared with this time last season (277).

■ 2011 Division I Baseball Midseason Trends compared to 2010 (ncaa.org)

Detailed statistical comparison

■ ESPN Sports Science presents BBCOR Bats Explained (youtube.com)

■ Chucking the wood? (ncaa.org)

With the new metal bats in college baseball performing more like wood, some people are asking why not just return the game to its roots, both figuratively and literally?

The wood-bat discussion in college ball is not new, but it strikes out more often than not. It may be closest to a reality in Division II, where three conferences (the Northeast-10, the East Coast Conference and the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference) use wood during the regular season and in their postseason regional.

Also, at its October 2010 meeting in Phoenix, the Division II Conference Commissioners Association resolved to support the idea of wood bats, with the intention of Division II collectively moving toward being a wood bat-only division by 2012-13.

While that sounds promising, the old factors of cost, quality and competitive equity always retire the side in Division I.

“It becomes a rather circular type of conversation,” said Big 12 Deputy Commissioner Tim Weiser, who chairs the Division I Baseball Committee. “And now technology has gotten us to a point where we’re able to mirror the performance of wood without the cost/quality issues we know we always face when we talk about the discussion of using actual wood bats.”

Jeff Schaly, the director of compliance at Lynn and chair of the Division II Baseball Committee, said people on both sides of the same argument are using this year’s results in the wood-metal debate.

“Those who support metal say let’s play with these new aluminum bats for a year or two and see if they really do perform like wood,” Schaly said. “If they do, then we don’t even need to talk about wood anymore. But those who favor wood are using these same data to support their case, too. If the metal plays just like wood, then why not go to wood?

“Each side of the argument is using these results to bolster their case, and neither side is wrong.”

■ What is the best BBCOR bat for 2011? (compositebats.com)

We hit every BBCOR bat on the market for three weeks straight. Combined, we put in over 10,000 swings on these bats. It all came down to sting, vibration and balance of the bat. All BBCOR bats have a smaller barrel than their BESR counter parts. All BBCOR bats feel heavier because more weight is distributed to the end of the barrel.

Here is the ugly truth about BBCOR bats… The “pop” is almost indistinguishable between bats. However, that is where the similarities end and the testing begins.

There were clear “winners” in the shootout. Not because one bat hit the ball further every time, but because one bat allows you to control the bat better and put the sweet spot on the ball more consistently. While they all hit the ball approximately the same distance, several bats had advantages in comfort and swingability that will ultimately help you be a better hitter.

■ Analysis of Baseball (May Swenson)

It’s about
the ball,
the bat,
and the mitt.
Ball hits
bat, or it
hits mitt.
Bat doesn’t
hit ball, bat
meets it.
Ball bounces
off bat, flies
air, or thuds
ground (dud)
or it
fits mitt.

Bat waits
for ball
to mate.
Ball hates
to take bat’s
bait. Ball
flirts, bat’s
late, don’t
keep the date.
Ball goes in
(thwack) to mitt,
and goes out
(thwack) back
to mitt.

Ball fits
mitt, but
not all
the time.
Sometimes
ball gets hit
(pow) when bat
meets it,
and sails
to a place
where mitt
has to quit
in disgrace.
That’s about
the bases
loaded,
about 40,000
fans exploded.

It’s about
the ball,
the bat,
the mitt,
the bases
and the fans.
It’s done
on a diamond,
and for fun.
It’s about
home, and it’s
about run.

What's the problem????

■ The Problem is Taylor Stadium !!!

"The stadium is below par relative to other Big XII schools but . . . it is a vast improvement over its predecessor.

The school went cheap on it, but very few care about baseball at Mizzou, at least among big money boosters so there wasn't much that could be done about it.

Mizzou has made it clear that football and men's hoops are the priority. All other sports will fight for scraps and make due as best they can."

• "The most beautiful thing in the world is a ballpark filled with people." (Bill Veeck)

• "You should enter a ballpark the way you enter a church." (Bill Lee)

■ The Problem is a Lack of Focus !!!!

Taylor had allowed 33 hits in 23.2 innings coming into the game, allotting to a .337 batting average against, but Missouri made him look good in his one-hitter.

“He was good, but he wasn’t great,” said Missouri outfielder Blake Brown. “We got good pitches. We made solid contact a lot, but we hit it right at guys and some people, like myself, were maybe trying too hard.”

“I don’t know if it was that he threw that well or we were that bad at the plate,” explained Missouri coach Tim Jamieson. “Guys [were] not focused.”

• "We just want to win. That's the bottom line. I think a lot of times people may become content with one championship or a little bit of success, but we don't really reflect on what we've done in the past. We focus on the present." (Derek Jeter)

■ The Problem is Too Many Errors!!

• March 6 - Mizzou committed five errors in Saturday’s series opening 11-7 loss. Those errors compounded starter Matt Stites’ rough outing, as the junior college transfer allowed six runs (four earned) on six hits, four walks and four strikeouts over just four innings of work.

• Error cost MU baseball game (Columbi aTribune, 4/9)
Shortstop Jesse Santo bobbled a ground ball, allowing the winning run to score with two outs in the ninth as the Missouri baseball team lost to Oklahoma State 3-2 in Stillwater, Okla.

• "Bobby Knight told me this: 'There is nothing that a good defense cannot beat a better offense.' In other words a good offense wins." (Dan Quayle)

■ The Problem is Not Enough Strikes !!!!

“He struggled to throw strikes and that’s kind of been his downfall,” Jamieson said of Smith. “The whole pitching staff, when we’ve thrown strikes, we’ve been good. When we haven’t, we haven’t been good.”

• "Just take the ball and throw it where you want to. Throw strikes. Home plate don't move." (Satchel Paige)

■ The Problem is the #$%^ BBCOR Bats !!!!

"Through seven games Mizzou, as a team, has shown about as much power as former St. Louis Cardinal and current Philadelphia Phillies infielder Placido Polanco.

The Tigers’ team isolated power (ISO, slugging percentage minus batting average—which measures a player’s true power) sits at .087 through 230 team at-bats. In 2010, Polanco’s ISO was .088.
. . .
So it’s not altogether shocking Mizzou’s power stats aren’t high to begin the season. What is surprising is that the team’s power numbers are those of a slap-hitting infielder. And that’s where the NCAA’s new bat regulations may just come into play."

• "I struck out with two men on base. I was so angry, so frustrated, I turned and without even thinking about it, snapped my bat over my thigh. The bat split right in half. Afterward, reporters asked me if it was the first time I'd ever broken a bat over my thigh. "I broke an aluminum bat over my knee in college," I said. I was just kidding." Bo Jackson

■ The Problem is the middle of the order !!!!

• February 16th: “It’s been a while since we potentially had that much offensive production from those [positions],” said coach Tim Jamieson. “Usually we’ve had one guy at the top of the lineup and one guy at the bottom of the lineup, but with those two guys you’re talking about the 3-4 hole hitters.”

Both players fit perfectly into those spots in the lineup, with Garcia possessing plus on-base skills for a No. 3 hitter and Mach bringing good power for a No. 4 hitter.

“Conner especially is going to show some power—Eric’s gonna show some power too, but I think he’s a guy that’s gonna hit more for average,” added Jamieson. “Those are two guys who have a chance to be really good offensive players, not only for us but also relative to the other middle infielders in the Big 12.”

• Opel shows signs of life for Tigers (Columbia Tribune, April 8)
The middle of Missouri’s lineup has been more vacuum than vaunted, especially early in Big 12 play. If the Tigers are going to make a charge at reaching the Big 12 Tournament, they’ll need their run-producers to get back on the assembly line.

Jonah Schmidt has been the best of the bunch, hitting .350 with four RBI in five conference games entering this weekend’s series at Oklahoma State. Around him, though, Opel, Conner Mach and Eric Garcia are hitting a combined .128 (6 for 47) with 10 strikeouts and just one RBI.

“Those guys need to perform well for us. Dane’s one of those guys, and you’re starting to see some of that,” Missouri Coach Tim Jamieson said. “For us to win in the Big 12, we need to have at least three of those guys, at least two of those guys, swinging the bat well, and we haven’t had that yet.”
. . .
If Opel can get back to last season’s numbers — he hit .270 with eight doubles and 30 RBI — Jamieson believes it will help the rest of the order. Pitchers tend to make more mistakes under pressure, and making mistakes to the likes of Garcia, Mach and Schmidt could come back to haunt the hurler.

• "The math professor who taught us that it wasn't the answer to a specific problem that was important but, rather, learning to appreciate the interlocking coherence of the whole scientific view of the world. The English teacher who showed us the agonies of patience that went into crafting a poem so precise in its choice of words that we could read it a hundred times over fifty years and always find it powerfully true. The teachers, in other words, who taught us that love of learning --- for itself --- not love of grades, was the beating, enduring heart of education.

So too in games, the guiding principle that most often keeps people oriented through all their passages and changes is a governing passion for excellence. In baseball, that's what you discover at the heart of the order." (Thomas Boswell)

■ The Problem is a Lack of Passion !!!!

"U could ask any and every player that had played missouri baseball in the past 10 years (since they went on there regional run) and they will all tell u the same thing about each team, each team played with passion and fight. They had "swag" and would do anything and everything to win each game. The teams the past few years doesn't have that. The swag left when u lost players like Bond, wendte, lawless, crow, gibson, fry."

• "Passion, not pedigree, will win in the end." (Jon Bon Jovi)

■ The Problem is Kerrick Jackson !!!!

When Jackson held up the stop sign for Champagne, he took the pressure off LeMoyne, a 3-9 team that is prone to mistakes, and put it on Sommerfeld, his own player. A team that tries to bunt with its three-hitter in the first inning, cannot simply wait for the big hit in the ninth inning of a one-run game. If the Tigers do not anticipate the hit at the beginning, then why do they expect it at the end?

“You just had a guy thrown out at the plate a batter or two before that, so you’re going to be a little bit gun-shy,” said Jamieson. “It’s easy to second-guess, but that’s one out of six or seven plays that you could point at that make a difference.”

However, there is a flaw in that logic. It does not matter that a runner has already been thrown out at the plate – never mind that it was a completely different outfielder making the throw. That logic only justifies the fear of sending Champagne home, not the decision to hold him at third. If the Tigers want to be aggressive, then they also have to manage the consequences of those game-swinging decisions. For every few runners that take an extra base, one is going to be thrown out. When Jackson held Champagne up at third, he suddenly reversed Missouri’s offensive priorities.

• “Some of us will do our jobs well and some will not, but we will be judged by only one thing-the result” (Vince Lombardi)

■ The Problem is Matt Hobbs !!!!

"His management of the pitching staff has been awful.. He, not our pitchers, should be to blame! He has several great arms on the bench that he is not even using.. Also, he is using guys in the wrong situations. How this guy got the job I have no idea."

• "I have an idea what to do about the bullpen: napalm." (Stanley Wilson Williams, Seattle Mariners Pitching Coach, 1998)

■ The Problem is a Failure to Consistently Execute the Game Plan !!!!

Throw out the baseball textbook with this team. Throw out the rules that say you should not have your third hitter bunting in the first inning. Those rules do not apply to this club. Missouri should be playing that type of exaggerated small ball. A team without many power hitters – or even gap hitters – has to put the pressure on the defense before the pitcher puts pressure on its hitters. A team with only 20 extra base hits in its first 13 games – and only five in its previous six – is forced into that strategy. However, there is something to be said for consistency.

A philosophy this exaggerated can work and absolutely can lead to success, but it needs to be the team’s only identity. Missouri has attempted 29 stolen bases – persistent considering they have only been successful on 18 of them – but that is what the team needs to do to win. They need to continually put pressure on the opposition. They need to keep running and they have.
. . .
Now it seems as though that scratch-and-claw style may not be the key to their season, but consistency might be.

• "My best game plan is to sit on the bench and call out specific instructions like 'C'mon Boog,' 'Get ahold of one, Frank,' or 'Let's go, Brooks.'" (Earl Weaver)

■ The Problem is the Team is in a Slump !!!!

In a 162-game schedule, clubs will generally lose 50 games and win 50 games. But it's what they do over those remaining 62 contests that either makes them a championship-type caliber team contending for the pennant, or an also-ran that finds itself out of playoff contention.

Obviously no player wants to be on a team that loses on a continuous basis. Victory is the main objective, and the more you win, the better it feels. And according to Catalanotto, all it takes is an instant to feel the pulse of a team and whether or not they are hot or cold.

"I think you can walk into any clubhouse and know whether it's a winning team or a losing team," he said. "There's definitely a different atmosphere. When we were playing good baseball and winning, the clubhouse seemed different. It seemed a lot looser and it was a fun place to come to. We looked forward to coming to the clubhouse. But earlier in the season it was very dreary and very blah and you could just kind of feel the tension in the air."

• "Slumps are like a soft bed. They're easy to get into and hard to get out of." (Johnny Bench)
  
  
• "My motto was always to keep swinging. Whether I was in a slump or feeling badly or having trouble off the field, the only thing to do was keep swinging." (Hank Aaron)

■ The Problem is . . . That's Baseball

In everyday life, there are good days and bad. Everybody has them. In baseball, it's no different.

But unlike everyday life, bad days incurred by baseball players and teams can be quantified. Whether by batting average, earned run average or wins and losses, baseball's numbers tell us who's hot and who's not. Numbers, though, certainly don't tell the whole story.

So the next time you try to analyze these numbers, remember that there is no rationale, no hypothesis, no formula for extending streaks or curtailing slumps.

"Baseball is a funny game," said Kapler. "It's one of the hardest ones to explain and describe. There's a lot of feeling that goes on and the feeling is difficult enough to try and describe for someone who has gone through it but even more difficult to describe to somebody who is on the outside. There's really no terminology for it. It's just something in your body."

"When I played ball, I didn't play for fun. . . . It's no pink tea, and mollycoddles had better stay out. It's a contest and everything that implies, a struggle for supremacy, a survival of the fittest." (Ty Cobb)

MU Baseball Quotes & Notes: Staff & Stats

■ MU Baseball fans may recognize this member of the event staff: Veteran MU Event Staff member knows how to treat customers (Columbia Missourian). Ron Lueck is the friendly Event Staffer I was referring to in my season ending "Tip of the Cap" feature this past June.

“I’m looking up in the stands just watching, seeing if there’s something happening somewhere,” Lueck said.

Sometimes the "something" is a disagreement or a fight. Most often, this occurs during high school wrestling.

"It’s a different kind of fan," Lueck said. "Usually the toughest ones are Mom and Grandma.”

■ College Baseball Insider has been running a series on The State of College Baseball. They polled D-I coaches and received responses from 121 (40%), addressing various topics:

• Bats: 43 percent said the new bats will cause them to change the way they coach.
• Scholarships: 86 percent of coaches agreed there should be more than the current 11.7 scholarships
• Pitch clock: "Our guess is that there are likely a number of coaches who simply believe that clocks are better served for sports other than baseball," said Phil Stanton, co-founder of CollegeBaseballInsider.com. "But there also could be a number of coaches who believe that the new bats will help shorten college baseball games on their own, and the pitch clock wasn't necessary."
• Post-season: 45% want to keep the post-season format unchanged
• Best College coaches: Among the BCS coaches, Oregon's Horton captured 14 votes (13 percent), with Clemson's Jack Leggett and Texas' Augie Garrido each garnering 13 votes (12 percent).

Ping

■ College Baseball's new sound (KOMU.com VIDEO)

"I still haven't figured out the sound, yet. Some balls you'll think they hit good and it will sound weird and it won't go anywhere and other ones will sound dead and it will carry," Missouri outfielder Jonah Schmidt said.

"They sound kind of like a graphite driver kinda," added Mach.

Big 12 Coaches Poll & Teleconference

■ Big 12 Coaches PreSeason Poll:

1. Oklahoma
2. Texas
3. Texas A&M
4. Baylor
5. Kansas State
6. Oklahoma State
7. Texas Tech
8. Nebraska
9. Kansas
10. Missouri

■ @MUTigerBaseball on Twitter: Another poll, same story... Fine by us, fuel for our fire! #MIZ #redemptionin11

■ Notes from the Big 12 Coaches Teleconference (big12sports.com) The teleconference audio will be archived.

• Tim Jamieson, MU:

Will preparing to coach the USA National team impact your time? The selection process is going to be different this year, so it will be more office work, maybe one day a week.

Do you expect pitchers to pitch inside more because of the new bats? I expect more to see a need for more strike-to-ball efficiency.

What areas need the most polish? Last year we played a lot of young people and that will definitely help us. The biggest thing we have to overcome is we don't have a real marquee guy, its going to have to be a team effort.

How much separation do you think there is between those four south schools picked 1,2,3,4 and the rest of the conference? I don't think there's going to be that much of a separation from 1 to 10.

Who are the new pitchers you're going to be looking at? If the season starts today, the Friday night pitcher will be Matt Stites; Saturday guy will be Rob Zastryzny; Zach Hardoin looks to be the Sunday guy. The guy nobody has talked about is Eric Garcia. He's a guy that will probably be an end of the game guy.

What are your thought about the Big 12 Tournament format change? I do feel like the drama had left the tournament. But for us, you never want to be in the loser's bracket, but there's a drama that you lose without the double elimination tournament. . . If you get into the Regionals and to Omaha, it's double-elimination, so it prepares us for what's ahead.

• Dan Spencer, TT:

Pitching: We're going to throw more strikes, and we're going to be better defensively this year . . . The pitchers, at the end of the year, sign your check.

New bats: The guys that can hit are going to be fine with the new bat. . . . The batting averages and RBIs are going to be similar; the home runs will be down.

• Mike Anderson, NU:

Mindset on playing their last year in the Big 12: I don't think it's changed . . . our goal is to get toward the top of the conference and move on into the post-season.

Recruiting for the Big 10: We're pleasantly surprised with the strong interest we've gotten from across the country.

New bats: The key to it is throwing strikes. there's no way you can give up free passes. . . I think it's going to change the game quite a bit.

Darren Erstad as a coach: He has the ability to serve people . . . it's the first time I've turned the offense over to somebody else in the past 10 years, and he's energized the kids.

• Ritch Price, KU:

New bats: The games are about 30 minutes shorter than they've been in the past, in the intra-squad games

What's it going to be like not coaching a Price: If my wife hadn't cut me off, I'd have a lot better team.

• Steve Smith, BU:

New bats: I'm excited about the change. I think we literally have our game back. Some of the players of this generation . . . I don't think they even know how to play the game. . . The last 10 or 15 years you sat in the dugout, you hoped your pitcher could at least miss the bat, and you waited 'til someone hit it up in the wind and out. . . . It's an emphasis on how you play the game of baseball.

• Brad Hill, KSU:

New bats: It is what it is . . . Heck, we only hit 31 home runs last year, it's not going to effect our team.

• Rob Childress, aTm:

New bats: A team's not going to be able to cover up a mistake in the 3rd inning with a 5-6 run inning later. It's just not going to happen. . . You're going to see a number of games played in under 2 hours. . . You don't want to show up 30 minutes late - you might be in the 6th inning.

• Sunny Golloway, OU:

Following up on 2010 success: There's a special temperament that comes with being a team that went to Omaha last year. . . I've had to get on some players.

New bats: Our power guys it doesn't seem to affect us as much . . . We haven't put too much emphasis; I don't want that bat to have too much of a psychological effect on what are already good hitters.

• Frank Anderson, OSU:

New bats: It's always been big to throw strikes . . . we had home runs over the weekend - they're not going 500 feet, they're going 400 feet. . . Every hitting coach in college baseball has been whining about it, but so far it seems pretty good.

Why they had a down year in 2010: We have a niche that was going good with the transfers, but then they changed the rules on that.

• Augie Garrido, UT:

New bats: You still have to be able to execute. Few of the players that c0me out of high school are able to bunt, understand the concept of productive outs . . We still have a lot of work to do for our players to get the timing, to execute the plays. . . . It's about sustaining the rally. . . We played a total of 72 innings [in practice], 36 against ourselves, 36 against outside Division 1 opponents, and there was not one home run hit in those 72 innings. . . Every game is going to take on its own destiny.

Big 12: Every team has a nucleus of a good team. It comes down to which teams have the attitude and teamwork . . . any one of the teams in the conference could catch that magic.

Enthralled with small ball

■ Missouri baseball puts emphasis on bunts, steals (Columbia Tribune)

. . . And until the players get used to the new bats, teams are working on moving runners around any way possible. Batters won’t be able to get away with mistakes as often as they could in the past.

“You notice it in the balls you get jammed on,” said outfielder Jonah Schmidt, whose seven home runs in 2010 is tops among returning players. “I was able to get jammed on some pitches last year, and it would still carry. I just don’t think it’s going to be like that this year.”
. . .

2011 College Baseball Quotes & Notes

■ Last yr, MLB teams scored ~4.4 runs/gm. Cape Lg: 3.7 rpg. D1 schools: 6.5! Will be interesting to see how much that changes w/ new bats. (@collegesplits on twitter)

■ Night practice tonight in Devine Pavilion. Stites vs. Zastryzny. Practices have been awesome so far! Redemption in '11... (@MUTigerBaseball on twitter)

■ Big 12 Conferences announces 2011 FSN Baseball Television Schedule (big12sports.com)

6 games! Lots of games featuring teams from Texas. Maybe we should have jumped to the Big Ten after all.

■ Ty Cobb gives up baseball for basketball (sbnation.com)

BBCOR Bats

■ NCAA and NFHS rules on compliant baseball bats for 2011 (dirtdogbaseball.com)

Good source of basic information about the new bat standards, including how they will apply to high school baseball as well.

■ NCAA Certified Bats Website (Baseball Research Center - University of Massachusetts-Lowell)

This web page will be used to list all bats that have been submitted to the University at Massachusetts at Lowell Baseball Research Center (UMLBRC) for NCAA certification and have passed. All bats are tested per the NCAA Ball Exit Speed Ratio (BESR) Protocol or Bat-Ball Coefficient of Restitution (BBCOR) Protocol. Table 1. summarizes the bats which have been submitted and run through the BESR and/or BBCOR certification process and passed.

■ NCAA Baseball bat standards and procedures (NCAA.org)

If an illegal bat is detected, umpires are directed to remove the bat from play and place the bat in a secure area away from the offending team, either personally or with the assistance of game management. The bat shall be returned to the offending team, on their request, at the conclusion of the series or in the case of a single game, at that games conclusion.

All umpiring crews are expected to have a full copy of legal and illegal bats in the locker room. In addition, all umpiring crews are expected to have a copy of the illegal bat list available to them on the field during a game for reference in case a bat is challenged as illegal due to having a composite barrel.

■ From http://twitter.com/#!/MUTigerBaseball:

Just got our shipment of new TPX Omaha bats. Check out the new paint scheme. http://yfrog.com/h4n4psxj

NCAA Bat standards go into effect today

New bat standards were approved in May, 2009, with the due date of January 1, 2011 for all bat manufacturers to comply. Of course, nearly all have already met the new standards, in anticipation of the deadline. The details are murky and deep, but wade in as you will:

■ NCAA Standard for testing baseball bat performance: Bat-Ball Coefficient of Restitution (NCAA.org)

Summary of Pass-Fail Criteria

1. The bat must meet the size and weight specifications.
   
   
2. There are no tolerances for length-weight differences (no greater than three units without the grip) or for maximum barrel diameter.
   
   
3. The bat must have an MOI (6 in. from the base of the knob) greater than or equal to the minimum allowable for the bat’s length class.
   
   
4. The bat ring must pass over the entire length of the bat before and after every hit.
   
   
5. The BBCOR, as determined from an average of six (6) consecutive valid hits at the maximum BBCOR location described above, must not exceed 0.500.

■ College baseball's new bats take swing at cutting down offensive stats (inside vandy.com)

Vanderbilt Head Coach Tim Corbin noted that the new bats could in turn produce some head-turning stat lines from pitchers around the nation.

“A guy with average stuff is going to have a chance to go longer in games,” he said. “Really you just have to throw strikes, because if you’re not throwing strikes to these bats and getting contact, then shame on you. That’s what it is — the ball’s not going to leave.”

New Year's 9

The arrival of New Year's Day means . . .

1. Nasty weather. A week ago they were predicting a beautiful New Year's Eve, light jacket weather for those who plan to be out and about. I predicted NOT. New Year's always brings nasty weather. And, true to form, the high Friday is supposed to be around 60. and then that afternoon and evening the temperature is going to drop like a can of corn and hit 20 by the time 2011 arrives.
   
   
2. The most non-productive week of the year. Nobody wants to do much of anything at work during the week between Christmas and New Year's. Me? I'm writing a blog post about how nobody wants to do anything productive during the week between Christmas and New Year's.
   
   
3. Darkness. I drive to work before the sun comes up. I drive home after the sun is going down. It's too cold to go out and do much of anything. There's nothing on TV but bowl games and reruns of Glee (aka, Muzak disguised as a sit-com). No wonder so many people are depressed this time of year.
   
   
4. College Football is finally going to be over. Can there be anything less exciting than a sport that plays only 11-12 games in a season, punctuated at the end by a meaningless bowl game? Picture that schedule being applied to basketball or baseball. It's laughable, right? So why does it make sense for football?
   
   
5. The new BBCOR bat standards go into effect on January 1st, bringing about significant changes to the style of baseball we've gotten used to in college baseball. It will be interesting to see how it all works out.
   
   
6. Looking back. Every program, every magazine, every blog (except this one) has a Top Stories of the Year list. The first one is mildly interesting, and then they start to blur together. And when I look back on MY 2010, hardly any of those Top Stories rank in my top 10. My family moved, my job got crazy, my best baseball buddy moved away, a dear friend was released from prison after 32 years, my son experienced major changes in his life, a former foster child came back into our lives after nearly two decades, my father died, and I discovered the truth that every Baby Boomer discovers, that I'm now responsible for a parent in need. Those are the stories that really impacted my life.
   
   
7. New Year's Resolutions. Lots of people make them. Few keep them. There's a good read and a unique take on the subject at Titus2Tea. What's your 1 resolution for 1/1/11?
   
   

8. Mid-Winter Baseball Deprivation Blues. This time of year I'm reminded of a scene from Field of Dreams. Ray Kinsella has built the field and then waits for weeks and months while nothing happens. there's a quick scene during the holidays. His relatives are in the background making merry, and he's sitting and looking out the window at the snow-covered field. Waiting. New Year's is the low spot for most baseball fans, the middle of the long off-season wait.
   
   
9. New Year's Eve marks exactly 7 weeks until Opening Day of the 2011 College Baseball season! The season ticket renewal forms will be in the mail any day now. The announcement of the date for the First Pitch Celebration will be made any day now. Mizzou-RAH!!!
   
   Those who think the baseball world revolves around the Major Leagues have 13 weeks until opening day. No wonder they're depressed.

You Make the Call: Should it be Wood?

The Missouri Tigers are practicing with wood bats this Fall. The new metal bats that meet the 2011-mandated BBCOR standards are designed to make the metal bats behave more like wood.

So why not just use the wood?

Our latest SimmonsField.com "You Make the Call" poll (in the left-hand sidebar) lets you express your opinion.

■ Wood becoming most logical bat answer (rivals.com)

“I think the cost factor is the main reason we haven’t gone to a wood bat,” Serrano said. “It’s a cost factor because you have to think about how many bats college teams will go through in a year. MLB is always going to get the best wood and there’s a chance we’d be stuck with the second-tier wood. Getting lower grade wood really wouldn’t be good for our game.”

■ Division II Baseball considering wood bats (collegebaseball360.com, May 2010)

Most quality metal bats cost $300 and up, Brunk said. A good wood bat costs between $25 and $50. He said most college players will not go through enough wood bats in game competition to equal the investment in metal. Further, those who are worried about breakage can use composite bats in batting practice, thus extending the life of the wood bats.

Flagler head coach Dave Barnett is certainly among those coaches concerned about cost. He believes wood would be cheaper.

“I bought two bats this year, one for $399 and one for $369,” said the longtime coach of the Peach Belt Conference school. “I gave the guys a catalogue and said, ‘I can buy two bats – pick them.’

“There are cheaper bats, but none less than $300, and no one is buying a $300 bat these days. Players bring their own, and they last only one year (because) they lose their velocity. Kids get new bats every year. So don’t tell me that wood bats are going to be a cost issue.”

■ Top coaches prefer metal over wood (espn.com, June 2010)

According to an Associated Press survey of 24 coaches whose programs have won 1,000 or more games since 1985, 17 said they preferred aluminum and that there was no need to study the possibility of going to wood bats.
. . .
Proponents of metal argue that all 301 Division I programs play with the same thing and there's no risk of having top programs playing with better wooden bats, potentially skewing the results. They also like the scoring boost and say a $300 aluminum bat can last an entire 56-game season, while $100 wooden bats can break at any time.

Bats Below Average

I stopped by Taylor Stadium for an hour after work today - perfect day for baseball.

I tweeted some of my observations while at the park, but the one thing that struck me most was the sound of the Tiger offense. Instead of the usual PING of the bats hitting the balls, I heard the sweetest sound on earth: the CRACK of a wood bat hitting a baseball.

Yes, the Tigers are using wooden bats for all their practice sessions this Fall.

I'm guessing this has something to do with the new NCAA bat specifications that have a lot of college coaches and players complaining. The new specifications require that the bats perform more like wood bats. The complaint, however, is that the bats are very sluggish, significantly reducing offensive punch.

■ Knock on wood (baseballamerica.com)

• Augie Garrido, UT: "I think every coach kind of goes, 'Whoa.' It is recognizable from the very first batted ball. When you hit it on the sweet spot, it still goes. Whereas we might have hit 15 or 20 balls out in batting practice before, we're now hitting five or six balls out in BP."

• Paul Manieri, LSU: "I just hope you don't retard the development of the hitters because now all of a sudden everybody's sacrifice bunting with their 3-hole hitters, taking pro hitters and sacrificing all the time because offense is so sluggish."

■ Baseball America's Aaron Fitt, on Twitter:

[Mississippi State's John] Cohen on the new bats: "Guys are killing balls; they just don't go. Nobody's going to hit balls out of our ballpark—I'm serious."

■ Virginia second baseman Keith Werman (American Chronicle):

"You could get away with those bloop singles that get by the infielders and now they don't get by the infielders," Werman said. "I have noticed in the field that grounders are not hit that hard. You really have to barrel the ball up. When the big guys barrel it up, some of the ones that you thought were no-doubters, they barely get out or they don't get out. I have noticed it a lot more with the big guys."

Apparently, the reason some teams are using wood bats in fall practice is due to a shortage of the new bats.

■ New bat specifications could change college baseball (rebelgrove.com)

But no matter what Bianco thinks of the new rule, his team is one of the lucky ones. While Easton rushed about a half-dozen demo bats to Oxford, Miss., and other schools with similar bat deals, some colleges won't see the new models until right before the season.

Although the NCAA sent out a memorandum to bat manufacturers Sept. 16, 2008, informing them of the change, the transition hasn't been a timely one.

Louisville -- who, as one would guess, uses Louisville Slugger for its bats -- has only received one bat built to the new specifications. Due to the lack of BBCOR aluminum, the Cardinals are practicing this fall with the old bats and will hit with wood bats this winter.

UL coach Dan McDonnell expects to switch to the new bats when preseason practice begins in February.

"We took batting practice with it one day, but since we only have one, we decided to wait and swing it later," McDonnell said. "I don't blame the Easton schools for using them, since they have them, but we don't have that luxury."

On the other hand, Kendall Rogers of Rivals.com had a good point on twitter:

A little Did you know? According to the #NCAA, teams and players can use wooden bats in live competition. Wonder if some will now?

Wouldn't that be sweet? Personally, I'd be in favor of the Tigers unilaterally deciding to be a wood-bat team. If the new composite bats suck as much as everyone says they do, it might actually give Mizzou an advantage.

Bats: Metal or Wood?

■ Coaches comments of wooden bats (AP)

"Playing baseball with a wood bat is the way the game was made to be played. But it isn't going to happen. It isn't our mission to prepare players for pro baseball." — Texas coach Augie Garrido.
. . .
"Aluminum is better for our game because we don't have players that can handle the wooden bat well enough to make our game as exciting as it needs to be." — Oklahoma State coach Frank Anderson.
. . .
"At least with the aluminum bat, you know everyone has the same tool in their hand. That's why I have to be totally in favor of aluminum." — Wichita State coach Gene Stephenson.
. . .