Ease the transition: It's time to switch to wood

I found a better analogy. I’m not sure why I didn’t think of it sooner.

On June 17 I wrote about the absurdity of the existence of Major League Baseball’s designated hitter, as it creates polarity within America’s pastime. What I re-realized recently (I realized it before, but was reminded of late, for obvious reasons) was that the usage of aluminum bats in college baseball is even more impractical than the longevity of Big Papi’s position.

College basketball isn’t played with a rubber ball.

It makes no sense to me that at the collegiate level, baseball is played with a completely different hitting utensil than that at the professional level. And do not underestimate the difference between the two, either.

In high school, my conference – the Bay State Conference – was one of the only conferences in Massachusetts to use wood bats, and thus, I have somewhat of a biased perspective. But let me tell you, making the switch from aluminum to wood (which is harder than the other way around) is not exactly like going from Nikes to Reeboks. In high school, our non-conference games were played with aluminum and each time I – along with many of my teammates – had difficulty making the transition.

Swinging with a wood bat is an altogether different phenomenon than that of aluminum. Wood bats are less rewarding. If you fail to make contact with the sweet spot of the bat with wood, hits became that much scarcer, as aluminum is much more forgiving. That’s why college scouts tend to add 100 points to the batting averages of wood bat users, to put everyone on an even playing field.

Like I said, I am biased. I like the wood bat game much better. In high school, wood bat ball was like NL ball, as teams like my Framingham Flyers played more small ball by implementing squeezes and sacrifices more often. Conference games tended to be much lower scoring affairs, as non-conference battles often saw run totals reaching over 20, like we saw last night.

Last evening, staring into the ugly face of elimination, Cinderella Fresno State defeated Georgia 19-10 in Game 2 of the College World Series Championship Series.

To me, that’s not baseball. Growing up, we used to play that game all the time. It’s called Home Run Derby.

Anyone who appreciates a 19-10 slugfest over a 1-0 pitchers’ duel (like my roommate Jordan – forgive him, he’s from L.A.) in a game of such magnitude doesn’t comprehend the true game of baseball. I’ll take a well-executed hit-and-run over a 440-foot solo homer any day of the week.

And I’d be willing to bet that Peter Gammons would, too.

We live in an era with DHs, pitch counts, and lefty specialists, which I guess is O.K. But the NCAA is doing a disservice to these college athletes bound for the pros. Making the adjustment to wood bats – especially for the first time, which is the case for many – isn’t exactly like remembering how to ride a bike. It’s more like finally taking off the training wheels.

Tonight I’ll be watching one Bulldogs team be crowned champions of the college baseball world. I just wish I was hearing the melody made by maple rather than a cacophony pings.