Anderson Bat Q & A

[boogerbear]

Steve,
Are the graphics for the FP Nanotek similar to the bb and SP bats?

[SkinnyFats]

Questions for Tumblebug:


1) Were high end metal bats safe in 1999?

2) Were high end metal bats safe in 2003?

3) If 97 mph is a safe exit speed, what would you consider an unsafe exit speed?

4) Do you believe that small decreases in exit speed cause small increases in safety, or do you believe they are non-linear?

5) Why do you think many college baseball players struggle to make the switch to wooden bats in the pros?

6) When a composite bat "opens up", has it reached the end of life of the product?

7) If two comparable bats are tested and found to have the same exit speed, but one has a significantly lower MOI than the other, what would be the difference in actual game performance of the two bats?

8) Should MLB batters be allowed to cork their bats? Why or why not?

9) Would you object to any of the following?

A) Increase the MOI restriction on metal bats to be comparable to wooden bats of the same length
B) Keep the exit speed the same, but make bats pass the test with a swing speed which varies depending on the MOI
C) Keep the swing speed the same, but make bats pass the test with an exit speed which varies depending on the MOI


Thanks,
SF

[Skarp]

Define "safe." Your questions merely beg the more fundamental question that is already under discussion.

Lower exit speeds equate to more reaction time. That's tautological, and not worth belaboring. A 0 mph exit speed results in infinite reaction time...so what.

Very few kids get seriously hurt from batted balls relative to the number of balls batted--a fact which supports Tumblebug's conclusion that the injuries result from probability (that is, they will necessarily occur when sufficiently large numbers are in play, so long as the game of softball/baseball continues to be played in anything resembling its present form), and not from any super-elevated risk associated with the equipment. If the numbers don't support that claim, then by all means present some...like Tumblebug did. Because 20+ pages into this (well, actually the other) thread, mere naked claims about unsafety are getting rather tired.

[SkinnyFats]

Fine. Tumblebug, please ignore questions 1-4, replace them with "What factors caused bat standards to change twice in the last decade?", and then start at question 5 if you will.

Thanks,
SF

[Skarp]

Fine. Tumblebug, please ignore questions 1-4, replace them with "What factors caused bat standards to change twice in the last decade?", and then start at question 5 if you will.

Thanks,
SF

lol...thou art a persistent one.

I'll hazard a guess and say fear of liability for improbable but inevitable accidents--liability which won't be mitigated one iota by having moved the standards, because it's just another arbitrary line that any old jury can find unreasonable no matter where it is drawn.

That said, I would be interested to know whether there had been a statistically significant jump in batted-ball injuries which led to the downward revisions in performance standards, and whether the revisions in fact led to a reduction in such injuries. Those would be meaningful statistics.

[Tumblebug]

Steve,
Are the graphics for the FP Nanotek similar to the bb and SP bats?

yes, a different color scheme but essentially the same art.

[Tumblebug]

I’ll answer the questions that you ask but I don’t believe you are asking the question you want answered. No matter what my answers are here, you have a preconceived notion that there is a safety issue with bat performance. You act as if I owe you an answer. I suspect you will be surprised by my opinions.

1-4. I think that the original BPF requirement was sufficient to limit the upside in bat performance and the 2000 and 2004 BBS requirement changes were not necessary. So the pre-1999 standard was fine as far as I am concerned. I believe the probability in injuries from a batted ball is chiefly a matter of geometry rather than velocity. The primary issue being that a ball is somehow struck at a specific angle, regardless of the variance in game speed that limits the fielders’ ability to either stop or avoid the ball. The closer the fielder is to the origin of the ball the larger the angle of concern. To improve safety, it would be more effective to move the fielders back than to slow the ball. Small increases in speed have little or no impact on the rate of recurrence of injuries.

My understanding is that the correlations of safety with the bat standard changes in the past decade are erroneous. ASA made the certification changes based on preserving the integrity of the game and balancing the offensive and defensive aspects of the game. After a decade of testing they found no appreciable rise in injury based on higher batted ball speeds. Originally championed by the president of ASA, Frank Taylor, their sole concern was for the integrity of the game.

5. I’m not sure what this has to do with anything but the difficulty for the transition from aluminum to wood bats is primarily the difference in balance and it is much more difficult to fist a ball into the outfield if the bat breaks. Once a player learns to hit the inside pitch with a wood bat, aluminum is a bittersweet memory.

6. I’m not really sure I understand the question. I will give you some generalities. A composite bat is built with resin reinforced fibers. When the resin breaks down causing inter and intra layer delamination the performance of the bat improves. It is the beginning of the end for the product and eventually it leads to catastrophic failure.

7. There is not enough information in the question to give a good answer on this one. The performance could be different but there is too much involved to simplify that much.

8. I don’t think it matters. Cork does nothing. The advantage of corking is actually a balance issue and not a performance issue. The work-around is for the manufacturer to drill the hole. It is not illegal to lighten the end of the bat if you are a manufacturer and offer it to everyone. However it is illegal for a player to alter his own bat.

9. It does not matter to me what the requirements are. I will abide by any set of regulations mandated. My job is to build the best competing product possible within the rules.

[9805]

Hey guys...what does MOI stand for?

[Crabby_Bob]

Hey guys...what does MOI stand for?

Moment Of Inertia. Used to described the physics of rotating objects.

[Tumblebug]

Hey guys...what does MOI stand for?

Moment Of Inertia. Used to described the physics of rotating objects.

It describes the amount of effort necessary to rotate an object around a given axis. It is the best correlation to swing weight from a testing point of view.