With its season-opener against Elon only two days away, the N.C. State baseball team has been working to solidify lineups and set rotations, but an obvious schism remains among players that has been part of a controversial topic across the baseball community – the new aluminum bats.
The NCAA implemented new bat standards on Jan. 1 with the goal of reducing offensive output after a steady increase in offensive production occurred over the last few years. From 2007 to 2010, the average number of home runs per game rose from .68 to .94.
Junior slugger Harold Riggins, the Pack’s top returning homerun hitter (12 HR in 2010), said there has been a noticeable difference in how far balls travel between the new bats and last season’s.
“Looking at the scrimmages so far, I’d say there’s a big difference,” Riggins said. “A lot of the balls that are being crushed and coming off the bats with people saying it’s going to go out and then just dying at the warning track instead.”
The Wolfpack heavily relied on its explosive offense last season, finishing sixth in runs per game (9.1) and tenth in home runs per game (1.58) nationally. But with the NCAA’s new bat standards, offensive production is sure to decline. The only question is, how much?
If the new bats result in a drastic power outage for the Pack, coach Elliott Avent said he would not hesitate to look at other areas if the team found itself struggling to score runs.
“These bats are different, but if balls start dying on the warning track and we’re not scoring runs, then we’ll obviously look at doing some things different,” Avent said. “But we think we have one of the best hitting teams in the country and we’re going to do what we have to do to score runs.”
While the egos of hitters are taking a step back, the opposite can be said for pitchers.
The new bat standards have altered pitchers’ philosophies and given them a newfound confidence. With would-be home runs turning into shots to the warning track, Wolfpack pitchers have been focusing on pounding the strike zone and forcing hitters to put the ball in play.
“With the new bats, I’ve been working on my fastball command,” right-hander Cory Mazzoni said. “I feel like you can get away with throwing 80 percent fastballs this year as long as you have the right location. So everyone has been focusing on their fastball command and keeping it low in the strike zone.”
In addition to having a profound effect on hitting and pitching, the new bats will also put more pressure on the infield defense, since pitchers will be looking to keep the ball down in the strike zone to induce groundballs.
With hitting expected to regress, Avent said cutting down on mistakes such as walks and errors will be much more vital than in year’s past.
“Defense and pitching have always been a big part of this ballgame,” Avent said. “I think walks and errors will be more paramount now. If the offensive ingredient has been lessened, walking batters or making errors could be [the opposing team’s] only offense that day.”
Junior Pratt Maynard, who’s 11 home runs last season is tied for second among returning players, said the most important aspect of hitting with the new bats is to focus on making good, hard contact, and the ball will eventually find a hole.
“The whole team has just been trying to take good swings,” Maynard said. “The main key is to make sure you hit the ball hard and after that, whatever happens, happens. That’s the one thing you can do is hit the ball hard and it will find a hole.”
