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An observation on our woeful hitting
Posted on 3/6/20 at 5:49 pm
Posted on 3/6/20 at 5:49 pm
I would like to point out one factor that I don't think is doing our team any favors -
Combat Maxum
As anyone who's been paying attention knows, our baseball team has been swinging Easton sticks for years.
Less known - the parent company of Easton purchased the Combat bat company in 2013.
Combat was known for balanced one-piece composite bats popular around youth baseball travel circuits. Balanced as in low swing-weight.
The parent company (Bauer) restructured a couple of years ago, and now the Combat name is essentially defunct.
In my years of watching college baseball I never saw a college team swinging Combat.
Fast-Forward to today - Easton is now producing bats out of the last Combat BBCOR mold under their own label - the Maxum. It's the grey bat with orange trim you see many of our players swinging. It's extremely balanced, with little head weight or feel to it... you can whip through the zone quickly, and when hit flush on the sweet-spot it propels the ball a mile.
The problem -
Every returning Razorback I see swinging one of these was swinging a bat with a MUCH heavier swing-weight to it last year...
There's a reason top professional athletes are not swinging the lightest bats/clubs/racquets they can find. It's too easy to lose good form, and it's too easy to start trying to yank everything.
Case in point - how many power shots to opposite field have we seen this year? I pose to you we haven't seen many.
I hope other players will follow what I'm seeing from Casey Martin today -
Casey's gone from starting the season with a Maxum, to a less-balanced Fuze, to finally today an end-loaded Alpha. It's what he needs to walk up to the plate with, or else grab the end-loaded hybrid he started with two years ago.
Combat Maxum
As anyone who's been paying attention knows, our baseball team has been swinging Easton sticks for years.
Less known - the parent company of Easton purchased the Combat bat company in 2013.
Combat was known for balanced one-piece composite bats popular around youth baseball travel circuits. Balanced as in low swing-weight.
The parent company (Bauer) restructured a couple of years ago, and now the Combat name is essentially defunct.
In my years of watching college baseball I never saw a college team swinging Combat.
Fast-Forward to today - Easton is now producing bats out of the last Combat BBCOR mold under their own label - the Maxum. It's the grey bat with orange trim you see many of our players swinging. It's extremely balanced, with little head weight or feel to it... you can whip through the zone quickly, and when hit flush on the sweet-spot it propels the ball a mile.
The problem -
Every returning Razorback I see swinging one of these was swinging a bat with a MUCH heavier swing-weight to it last year...
There's a reason top professional athletes are not swinging the lightest bats/clubs/racquets they can find. It's too easy to lose good form, and it's too easy to start trying to yank everything.
Case in point - how many power shots to opposite field have we seen this year? I pose to you we haven't seen many.
I hope other players will follow what I'm seeing from Casey Martin today -
Casey's gone from starting the season with a Maxum, to a less-balanced Fuze, to finally today an end-loaded Alpha. It's what he needs to walk up to the plate with, or else grab the end-loaded hybrid he started with two years ago.
4
Posted on 3/6/20 at 7:05 pm to Beached Tusky
And maybe get base hits instead of swinging to the fence.
Though homers are great,driving in runs is wonderful too.
We leave way too many kids on base.
Though homers are great,driving in runs is wonderful too.
We leave way too many kids on base.
Posted on 3/6/20 at 7:14 pm to Clark14
Casey Martin is an obvious case, but the ones that stands out to me most are Nesbit and Franklin.
Both had good balanced approaches last year even though Franklin was often late on his load.
...and Kerstad - WHY would you take your results from the past two years with the same hybrid bat (Easton's version of the Voodoo), and move into an ultra-balanced bat radically different from what's helped you get on the national radar?
Both had good balanced approaches last year even though Franklin was often late on his load.
...and Kerstad - WHY would you take your results from the past two years with the same hybrid bat (Easton's version of the Voodoo), and move into an ultra-balanced bat radically different from what's helped you get on the national radar?
Posted on 3/6/20 at 7:39 pm to Beached Tusky
All three of those guys are hitting better than they hit last year 
For Gods sake, Heston has had a hit in every game, is hitting over .400, and is in the top 15 in the country in total bases. Franklin is also hitting right at .400 after hitting in the mid .270 range last year
Entering today the team batting average was .309. Last year they hit in the .290s. IMO the problem is that after they gave the first 2 games away in Houston they started pressing. When they get runners on they are trying to do too much , looking for the 3 run home run instead of just trying to make good contact.
You could see it in Wick today too. Looked great on the first two batters, walked a guy and forced a lazy fly to right that turned into a home run. From there on out he was pressing on every pitch. The guys just need to relax.
For Gods sake, Heston has had a hit in every game, is hitting over .400, and is in the top 15 in the country in total bases. Franklin is also hitting right at .400 after hitting in the mid .270 range last year
Entering today the team batting average was .309. Last year they hit in the .290s. IMO the problem is that after they gave the first 2 games away in Houston they started pressing. When they get runners on they are trying to do too much , looking for the 3 run home run instead of just trying to make good contact.
You could see it in Wick today too. Looked great on the first two batters, walked a guy and forced a lazy fly to right that turned into a home run. From there on out he was pressing on every pitch. The guys just need to relax.
This post was edited on 3/6/20 at 7:55 pm
Posted on 3/6/20 at 7:49 pm to Beached Tusky
Our biggest troubles hitting are with RISP.
So many innings where we have 2 runners on either with 0 or 1 outs and we don't move them around to score.
So many innings where we have 2 runners on either with 0 or 1 outs and we don't move them around to score.
Posted on 3/6/20 at 8:23 pm to Raz4back
You do understand it's not uncommon to have high averages early in the season, don't you?
Whatever, carry on.
Whatever, carry on.
Posted on 3/6/20 at 8:33 pm to Beached Tusky
quote:
You do understand it's not uncommon to have high averages early in the season, don't you? Whatever, carry on.
No, I only played for 20 years
What has Heston done that would lead you to believe he is worse off this year? Same question for Franklin.
This post was edited on 3/6/20 at 8:36 pm
Posted on 3/7/20 at 1:40 am to Beached Tusky
Interesting discussion.
Seriously.
Seriously.
Posted on 3/7/20 at 9:30 am to Beached Tusky
I’d be more on board with your assessment, if it weren’t for the past few years. But I’ve not been a fan of Easton since the original Connextion, which was a great bat. I noticed it more during the small ball years but the only teams putting up power numbers weren’t swinging Easton.
I’m with you though on changes from year to year. They do the same thing with golf clubs. Making changes for the sake of selling more product but not necessarily for the better.
I also agree I can’t imagine why guys like Martin would not prefer an end loaded bat.
I’m with you though on changes from year to year. They do the same thing with golf clubs. Making changes for the sake of selling more product but not necessarily for the better.
I also agree I can’t imagine why guys like Martin would not prefer an end loaded bat.
This post was edited on 3/7/20 at 9:31 am
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