lol 3 digit temperature.... and ball distance...

dunkky

Well-Known Member
yesterday, i was having pretty bad day at the plate. all the line drive was right at the fielders or damn fly balls.

So, i held my friend's kreacher in my hand, which is arguably one of the best bat there is what people say. It's 26oz half oz, not my liking..
anyway, i pull the hack out of it and crushed it that made bench guys stand up(we are just rec guys). ball flew and i was confident it will at least hit the fence, but i noticed the ball was hanging and hanging at the 2/3 of mid air and died at 280. wth?? a little more than if i would hit a routine fly ball. I just couldn't believe it.

those balls would gone out pre corona days for sure based on the impact i felt, trajectory, velocity... Have i simply lost my power over the years... that's kinda sad..

Or is it that i hit that mush ball in 100 temperature weather in TX? maybe both, I don't know... But, man, it's discouraging to see i no longer can clear the fence even with my best shot... maybe i need to go back swinging 27oz 1oz endload, forget about all these 26/5 sticks..
 

Redsfan

Well-Known Member
If it gets too hot here in Ohio our softballs aren't worth a crap either. High heat kills softballs.
 

dunkky

Well-Known Member
I really don't care about HR... rather hit scorching line drives. but if i lift one good, i like for it to clear the fence than a damn fly out. I am not a power guy, nor do i have the size and strength. Just don't wanna make an out.
 

TWmccoy

3DX Connoisseur
Hitting in the heat takes a lot of skill. You have to barrel the ball up perfectly with good spin if you want any real distance.

Go play in Viera, FL sometime. It'll humble you in a hurry.
 

dunkky

Well-Known Member
I am gonna swing 27 again... all the long balls i hit with was 27... none from 26. lightest was dnam i think it was 26.5. i don't think i just get bat speed with 26, what's the point. lol
 

basilray

Active Member
At least it was heat, and not heat plus wind.

I hit what I thought was a "no doubter" on Monday night, only to watch it die at about 290' for a fly out. Everyone thought it was gone, but 105F + 20mph winds, just didn't have the gas it would have on almost any other night.
 

SammyJaxxx

Starting Player
Never mind the heat, the humidity kills the distance on fly balls.
The ball doesn't travel as far when you it is flying through soup.
 

dunkky

Well-Known Member
At least it was heat, and not heat plus wind.

I hit what I thought was a "no doubter" on Monday night, only to watch it die at about 290' for a fly out. Everyone thought it was gone, but 105F + 20mph winds, just didn't have the gas it would have on almost any other night.
Actually, now that you mentioned it, there was wind blowing from center to left field, but not directly against though and definitely not 20 mph..

Regardless, if it was 27oz in my hand, might have been a different story. And I am pretty sure, i lost some power too since the corona outbreak...

anyway, when you are getting fly outs and all the solid hits are right at their leather all night, last thing i want is getting another deep Fly out. if you smash that with all you have, that thing gotta go out. otherwise you are in a such disadvantage, because they will play you shallow knowing that your best shot can't make 300.. lol
 

basilray

Active Member
Actually, now that you mentioned it, there was wind blowing from center to left field, but not directly against though and definitely not 20 mph..

Regardless, if it was 27oz in my hand, might have been a different story. And I am pretty sure, i lost some power too since the corona outbreak...

anyway, when you are getting fly outs and all the solid hits are right at their leather all night, last thing i want is getting another deep Fly out. if you smash that with all you have, that thing gotta go out. otherwise you are in a such disadvantage, because they will play you shallow knowing that your best shot can't make 300.. lol
Heard that.

Last week w/ no wind I hit what EVERYONE on the field thought was a no-doubt 3-run HR. It clanged off the very top of the corrugated plastic around the top of the fence for the prettiest single of my softball career. I've only put one out this year, but the number of "How did that not get out of here" balls coming off my bat is astronomical this season. 🤣
 

D-ROCK13

Well-Known Member
High temp and high humidity is a distance killer, especially with classic ms or pro ms. But i would try going up an ounce and see if it makes a difference, i never get as much distance with lighter bats
 

dunkky

Well-Known Member
High temp and high humidity is a distance killer, especially with classic ms or pro ms. But i would try going up an ounce and see if it makes a difference, i never get as much distance with lighter bats
Yes, i think many people are misled to believe that lighter bat yield more bat speed. Not necessary true all the time. For me, it looks like my bat speed after impact is about the same, so no reason to swing 26. I am going back to 27, full oz endload. lol
 

basilray

Active Member
High temp and high humidity is a distance killer, especially with classic ms or pro ms. But i would try going up an ounce and see if it makes a difference, i never get as much distance with lighter bats
Yes, i think many people are misled to believe that lighter bat yield more bat speed. Not necessary true all the time. For me, it looks like my bat speed after impact is about the same, so no reason to swing 26. I am going back to 27, full oz endload. lol
For a while, DeMarini was pushing for people to think about "Mass index" which was based on bat scale weight and actual weight distribution within the bat for this reason.

I did a quick look for their old chart, but couldn't find it. However, they were really suggesting that it's not purely swing speed, but a combination of swing speed + mass index or something along those lines. It made pretty logical sense.
 

Hiltz

Built for comfort
For a while, DeMarini was pushing for people to think about "Mass index" which was based on bat scale weight and actual weight distribution within the bat for this reason.

I did a quick look for their old chart, but couldn't find it. However, they were really suggesting that it's not purely swing speed, but a combination of swing speed + mass index or something along those lines. It made pretty logical sense.

I still see that chart on Demarinis in the local stores, but it's only on older models that haven't sold yet. The numbers climb with scale weight and are noticeably higher on more endloaded models. The only real use for it I can see is comparing two bats with different endloads, ie: seeing how much the mass index changes by going from a 28oz midload to a 27oz heavy endload. But even then, the numbers seem made up and arbitrary.

It's funny how something so simple can be made so complicated. You wanna do a test to see what bat weight/loading is best for you? Get some buddies together for BP and try a bunch of different bats, it's so easy. I hit best with endloaded bats and 28oz gives me the best exit speed and distance. 30oz is just a touch behind, 27oz is a little behind, and I see a noticeable dropoff with 26oz, no chart needed. I didn't try a 25oz because I have testicles.
 

dunkky

Well-Known Member
so, this one guy made a post in fb about swinging his newly acquired 25oz monsta hype, how it pisses a missiles and all.

the following week, I had a pickup game, and actually played against that guy. all i saw was either weak ground ball or avg line drive. i know one game is not sufficient samplings.. at the same time, it does say something about the bat and his mouth don't match. all these bs, so they can create this dumb hype and sell it for 500 after 200 swings..
 

andy-rockstar

Living for the Cit-ay
Once upon a time, there were a number of us on here who used to get into these physics-based discussions with Tumblebug...aka Mr. Anderson of Anderson Bat Co. (before he sold the company). There's a lot of good info in those threads about MOI (moments of inertia) and all that jazz--I don't recall if those threads ever talked about heat and humidity, but everyone knows that the mushier softballs really die in the summer.
 

jbo911

Super Moderator
Staff member
Humid air is best for baseballs, because the air is slipperier. That's accepted by all real scientists. The problem with heat in softball is it turns the balls to absolute mush, and we need some hardness to get the trampoline effect. Without that, the bat is giving you nothing and today's balls aren't either. Except the 52s, but they still don't give you much.
 

robokill

Manager
Humid air is best for baseballs, because the air is slipperier. That's accepted by all real scientists. The problem with heat in softball is it turns the balls to absolute mush, and we need some hardness to get the trampoline effect. Without that, the bat is giving you nothing and today's balls aren't either. Except the 52s, but they still don't give you much.
Yeah humid air should increase carry (humid air is less dense), but the humidity ****s with the ball (reduces exit speed).

Cold air is denser than hot air as well, but the same thing happens to the ball, heat = softer = lower exit velo. (Although I think really cold days, around freezing or lower, isn't great for exit velo either).
 

TWmccoy

3DX Connoisseur
Humid air is best for baseballs, because the air is slipperier. That's accepted by all real scientists. The problem with heat in softball is it turns the balls to absolute mush, and we need some hardness to get the trampoline effect. Without that, the bat is giving you nothing and today's balls aren't either. Except the 52s, but they still don't give you much.

Pro Ms in high heat are every bit as bad as classic Ms. It finally got hot enough in CO recently to put the Pro M to the test.... and they didn't pass. Lots of well hit balls sounded like pillows, and were dying short of the fence.

Frankly, I'd rather just hit .52s in any weather conditions.

BTW, in regards to prior posts in this thread, I once did a BP with a 26 and 32 oz 2001 3DX head to head. The 32 easily outhit the 26 for distance and batted ball speed, but I had slower bat speed with it. Extra barrel mass through the zone really does equal increased distance. Bat speed isn't everything if there isn't much mass behind it.
 

ilyk2win

Addicted to Softballfans
BTW, in regards to prior posts in this thread, I once did a BP with a 26 and 32 oz 2001 3DX head to head. The 32 easily outhit the 26 for distance and batted ball speed, but I had slower bat speed with it. Extra barrel mass through the zone really does equal increased distance. Bat speed isn't everything if there isn't much mass behind it.

I agree with this 100% which is why I still swing 30oz bats. But I will say that the new technology seems to favor lighter bats designed for slower swing speeds. I've seen some bad swings with 24-25 oz bats send the ball a lot further than the technique and/or bat speed indicated.
 

Bobby Buggs

SBF Site Sponsor
Even though 52-300 are supposed to be less temp sensitive I found out how much they really are last week. My 50 and over plays under ASA so 52-300 and ASA bats. My personal choice is a 2017 Freak Platinum maxload with well over 800 hits. Tuesday it was a bit cloudy and about 70 at game time. The game balls are kept in a shed at the field, no Ac. Im thinking Monday night it was in the 50s and the balls all got nicely conditioned as the sun really never came out Tuesday. I hit 2 balls into the trees which is about 315 and a bunch of line drives to the gaps. I also noticed playing infield the ball was coming out hot. After that performance I was so excited to get back there on Friday hoping to go off again. This time I had to go in the shed to get some game balls and it was Major hot in there. Game time temps were mid 80s with no clouds. Needless to say only 1 ball made it out and it was from our legit HR hitter, I went back to hitting the fence and dumping balls in front of outfielders. Talk about a let down.
 

TWmccoy

3DX Connoisseur
I agree with this 100% which is why I still swing 30oz bats. But I will say that the new technology seems to favor lighter bats designed for slower swing speeds. I've seen some bad swings with 24-25 oz bats send the ball a lot further than the technique and/or bat speed indicated.

Agree. Stuff like Monstas. You can swing those bats slow AF, and you get ridiculous distance. In fact, when you really try to smash a ball with a Monsta you seem to lose distance, the bat feels like crap, and the ball knuckles crazily.

In the old days, a heavier bat swung hard produced the best results. Sadly, that isn't the case anymore.

I swing mainly 28 oz bats, but will still pull out the 30s occasionally. I do notice distance loss if I swing 26 or 27s. It'll feel like I'm absolutely annihilating the ball with a brutish swing, only to have the ball die at 330'. 28s and 30s are the bats that produce 350'+ shots routinely.
 

TWmccoy

3DX Connoisseur
Even though 52-300 are supposed to be less temp sensitive I found out how much they really are last week. My 50 and over plays under ASA so 52-300 and ASA bats. My personal choice is a 2017 Freak Platinum maxload with well over 800 hits. Tuesday it was a bit cloudy and about 70 at game time. The game balls are kept in a shed at the field, no Ac. Im thinking Monday night it was in the 50s and the balls all got nicely conditioned as the sun really never came out Tuesday. I hit 2 balls into the trees which is about 315 and a bunch of line drives to the gaps. I also noticed playing infield the ball was coming out hot. After that performance I was so excited to get back there on Friday hoping to go off again. This time I had to go in the shed to get some game balls and it was Major hot in there. Game time temps were mid 80s with no clouds. Needless to say only 1 ball made it out and it was from our legit HR hitter, I went back to hitting the fence and dumping balls in front of outfielders. Talk about a let down.

.52 300s or classic +s definitely do get affected by high heat, but not NEARLY as much as balls like Pro Ms, classic Ms, or .44 375s. Once temps go above 90, I find that I EASILY get better distance with .52s than any other ball, that despite the .52 feeling like Nerf and not coming off the bat very hard.

.52s are strange balls. They'll feel super mushy at times, and not zip off the bat well. However, if you spin the ball well you'll see these slow, majestic moonshots that just don't want to come down. A couple weeks ago we played a tourny on a 99 degree day. Pro Ms were the main ball used, and they weren't doing much. Late in the day we threw a couple Hycor C+s in the game, and the bombs started flying. I hit one ball well that went about 375'. It was a high, spinning shot that surprised everyone (including me) with how far it went. There is absolutely no way in hell that same shot would have occurred with a Pro M or classic M.

Moral of the story? When it gets really hot I much prefer .52 balls to anything else. As long as you can spin the ball and get them in the air, they fly fine.
 

stang7222

Addicted to Softballfans
I agree with this 100% which is why I still swing 30oz bats. But I will say that the new technology seems to favor lighter bats designed for slower swing speeds. I've seen some bad swings with 24-25 oz bats send the ball a lot further than the technique and/or bat speed indicated.
The few times we played together I was swinging a 30oz. I definitely hit the ball harder but had little bat control. Since I'm not a power guy regardless of the bat, I went back to 27 (and now 26) with heavy emphasis on where the ball goes rather than hitting it 20 feet farther or 5 mph faster.
 

Normy

Well-Known Member
The few times we played together I was swinging a 30oz. I definitely hit the ball harder but had little bat control. Since I'm not a power guy regardless of the bat, I went back to 27 (and now 26) with heavy emphasis on where the ball goes rather than hitting it 20 feet farther or 5 mph faster.
Thats where I'm at. Much more consistent with my 26 than my 28. Especially on inside pitches.
 
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