Baseball is America’s pastime, and as such its rules rarely change.
But this season the NCAA is installing a new standard for aluminum bats, which could dramatically affect college baseball.
The new sticks will have a “pop” similar to a wooden bat, according to LSU baseball coach Paul Mainieri, who is preparing his team by using actual wood bats in practice.
“We figure they’re supposed to act like wood, we’ll just use wood until we get them,” Mainieri said.
Mainieri said the new policy is the third change regarding bats in the last 12 years, and this alteration is the “most drastic yet.” He said he will continue to use wooden bats until he gets a shipment of aluminum bats in mid-October.
Mainieri, who joked that the bats will be similar to what he played with in college, said the new bats have generated buzz this summer.
“I’ve talked to several coaches around the country that are already deep into their fall practices, and they tell me it’s created quite a change,” Mainieri said.
He said home runs and extra base hits will be scarcer as teams focus more on small ball.
“There’s going to be a real premium on being a line-drive hitter, bunting, hit-and-running, stealing bases and playing good defense,” Mainieri said.
Junior outfielder Mikie Mahtook said his friends from other schools said the bats are different, but a quality hitter will still hit well.
“The biggest difference is it’s going to take away the jam-shot home runs and the
balls off the end of the bat,” Mahtook said. “Balls that probably shouldn’t have gotten out with the old metals probably won’t get out with these.”
Mahtook said he thinks high-powered offenses will still be able to score runs.
“You drive in more runs with singles and doubles than home runs anyway,” he said.
Junior infielder Tyler Hanover said he’s not sure what to expect with the new bats, but he’s already grown accustomed to wood bats in practice.
“I guess you could say it’s going to help you get prepared for the next level,” Hanover said.
Senior pitcher Daniel Bradshaw said he expects ERAs to be lower this season, but “a metal bat is still a metal bat.”
“It’s still not going to hit exactly like wood,” Bradshaw said. “If a hitter gets his hands in on a ball and extends, it’s still a metal bat and it’s still going to fly.”
Another significant rule change was installed to speed up the pace of the game.
A 20-second clock will start when the pitcher receives the ball on the mound and will end when the pitcher begins his motion.
The time limit will only be in place when the bases are empty. The first violation will be a warning for the pitcher, and the next violation will result in a ball.
To help pitchers, a batter will get a strike if he is not in the box with five seconds or less remaining on the clock.
Mainieri prepared the Tigers for the new rule during LSU’s first fall practice by putting a 20-second timer on the scoreboard.
There will also be a 90-second time limit between innings during non-televised games.
“I wanted to see how long it took between innings and between pitches,” Mainieri said. “I don’t think it’s going to be a huge factor. People will be aware of it, and it eventually will speed up the pace of games.”
The rule was in place at the Southeastern Conference tournament last season but hadn’t been applied to the rest of college baseball.
Bradshaw said the timer between pitches didn’t affect his psyche on the mound during the SEC tournament, and the time limit between innings will be the bigger difference.
“We had to hurry between innings and help the catchers get their equipment on, and that … felt a little bit different,” Bradshaw said.
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Contact Rowan Kavner at [email protected]