Ugliest Power 5 DI Softball in Years!?

[radness]

I did some research awhile back on the WCWS for the past 3 decades. Mostly hitting stats.

Some of the changes are pretty stark. Hitters have improved, IMO. So have bats. Didn't the pitcher's plate get moved back in the early '90s? That could explain something, too, although I think most of the '90s was played like now.

View attachment 22096

Changes from earlier years include

1. It changed dramatically when they changed from the old dabeers and diamond white softballs to the now used yellow rockets. The flight differences are definitely measurable!

2. Pitching then moved back 3 feet.

3. The rules changed for batters in the box.
Used to have to make an attempt to move out of the way of the a pitch. Now can just stand there and let the pitch hit you to get 1st base. Which took away pitch locations, definitely chaned the inside river.

= BIG DIFFERENCES

Also people may attribute the lighter technology bats.
imo while the bats are lighter.
We still got our older heavier aluminum bats around fast.
Pitching was closer!
Try 70mph released from 35' away. Then 50mph change up. THINK FAST

Thanku for posting the compairison years @Nimrod
changes were made to speed up the game and put more/other action into it.
( instead of a pitchers duel)more base runners. more home runs. created more fan base. we can see that it works, instead of many low no scoring games,
and few base runners.

which reminds me of another thing that was implemented and that's the international tiebreaker rule. Because games would go on and on itb= they put a runner on base.

 

[Westwind]

@RADcatcher

Great post. My question: When they moved the rubber back 3’ it changed hitting.

Why doesn’t almost every youth player set up at the back of the box?

I‘m familiar with the common arguments for being at the front of the box but after all these years of watching softball, I don’t think I buy them anymore!

 

[Westwind]

Two quotes from a good article.

College softball's evolution - revolution? - started in 1988, when the NCAA instituted a rule change that moved the pitcher's rubber from 40 to 43 feet. It continued in 1993, when a more lively ball was introduced.

The ball is optic yellow, with raised, red seams to aid batters. What really helps hitters is what's inside - a harder core.

Softball's come a long way Rule changes transform game from bore to battle

Oklahoma coach Patty Gasso remembers the way softball used to be. "Games were either 1-0 and 75 minutes, or they were going 20 innings with two hits apiece," Gasso said. Or, put another way: "It was …

www.oklahoman.com

 

[_MIA_]

Two quotes from a good article.

College softball's evolution - revolution? - started in 1988, when the NCAA instituted a rule change that moved the pitcher's rubber from 40 to 43 feet. It continued in 1993, when a more lively ball was introduced.

The ball is optic yellow, with raised, red seams to aid batters. What really helps hitters is what's inside - a harder core.

Softball's come a long way Rule changes transform game from bore to battle

Oklahoma coach Patty Gasso remembers the way softball used to be. "Games were either 1-0 and 75 minutes, or they were going 20 innings with two hits apiece," Gasso said. Or, put another way: "It was …

www.oklahoman.com

What's next? Purists might quiver, but Candrea suggests another tweak.

"We need to move the fences back," he said.

Currently, NCAA guidelines mandate fences be 190-225 feet from home plate. The average distance is about 200 feet.

"I think you can afford to move the fences to 220 down the lines and 240 in center," Candrea said. "Then, you bring in the gaps and the triple. You bring in more emphasis on outfielders that are very capable.

"That might be something in the future."


That article was written in 2001.

 

[Westwind]

I have posted against moving the fences back but Candrea saying that is convincing to me. He has been there for the long run and it can’t be argued that he doesn’t have softballs‘ best interest at heart.

I‘m coming around to that argument. In the current game the only thing that matters is the otf hr because it can’t be defended. Players hit lasers that aren’t hits because anything that hits the green is caught or should be.

I saw several hr’s last weekend. TBH, most or all would have been hr’s on the field Candrea described.

 

[22Lefty]

What's next? Purists might quiver, but Candrea suggests another tweak.

"We need to move the fences back," he said.

Currently, NCAA guidelines mandate fences be 190-225 feet from home plate. The average distance is about 200 feet.

"I think you can afford to move the fences to 220 down the lines and 240 in center," Candrea said. "Then, you bring in the gaps and the triple. You bring in more emphasis on outfielders that are very capable.

"That might be something in the future."


That article was written in 2001.

This......100% .

 

[_MIA_]

I saw several hr’s last weekend. TBH, most or all would have been hr’s on the field Candrea described.

A barreled up ball by a decent college hitter is going to go 220+ feet..The only argument against it that makes sense
is that a lot of fields don't have the room to do it..

 

[Strike2]

A barreled up ball by a decent college hitter is going to go 220+ feet..The only argument against it that makes sense
is that a lot of fields don't have the room to do it..

Quite true, but those fields without room could raise the fence height. I see many fields already at 220 to center. Moving the fence back even further would keep more balls in the park, but also raise the possibility of more inside-the-park HRs. With 60 foot bases and a fast runner, a mistake in a deep outfield is hard to recover from.

 

[Nimrod]

Quite true, but those fields without room could raise the fence height. I see many fields already at 220 to center. Moving the fence back even further would keep more balls in the park, but also raise the possibility of more inside-the-park HRs. With 60 foot bases and a fast runner, a mistake in a deep outfield is hard to recover from.

A higher fence can help, but that still benefits the power hitters because homers just become doubles. Deeper fences, on the other hand, would push the outfielders back, allowing for more line drive singles to fall, and more gappers that can lead to doubles and triples. Lot of hard hit balls to the fences now actually become singles because they reach 200 feet so quickly, and the outfielders are right there to field them and throw back to the infield.

 

[Orange Socks]

I would like to see the collegiate fences at 220' if possible. If not, then taller fences. When DD was playing in HS and she a few HR over very tall fences. It's funny. When I showed up to the field, I said dang these fences are tall! Boom!! DD hits dingers. Like I have said before, DD is not very strong and does not hit a whole lot of HR's but she does.

The other thing that I have been seeing. A ball hit into the gap to the fence and the batter only gets a Single. Triples are very rare too with the shorter fences. On the other hand, the speedster can leg out a double on a ball hit right in front of the OF. That is impressive.