.52 balls- Have they made you a better hitter?

[TWmccoy]

This is somewhat related to my other thread about .52 300 balls and how they affect league players. Like I said prior, this is the first year I've seen .52 300 balls in wide use in tournies and leagues.

We all know the balls aren't as easy to hit out as a .44 375, and that you have to hit the barrel consistently and spin them to get results.

So, my question is: Do you think these balls have made you a better hitter? By better hitter I mean, do you pay attention more every at bat to try to find the sweetspot and put spin on the ball? I know I personally find myself working harder to be successful with these balls. I'm noticing results too. I'm mis-hitting less balls than before and am hitting them consistently better than I ever did with .44 375s. Honestly I think when I hit hard balls with hot bats I tend to at times get lazy and get by with less than optimal swings. With .52s you can't get by with lazy swings and missing the barrel. I guess what I'm saying is, since I've started hitting them consistently in games I'm noticing that I take each at bat more seriously and am squaring the ball up noticeably better than before.

 

[Ballisttic]

I guess you're the only one lol jk.

 

[Rocketfire24]

No, it doesn't make me concentrate more. It actually re-enforces the fact of how important bats are, WAY more then it was in the past (old ball and pre 08 bat standard) Any good, well broken in ASA composite or good PST or double wall hit the old ball great in the hands of a good hitter. I know it is different for everyone, but I was shocked at how hard it is for me to hit it out with the Hottest previous ASA bats. I have both an Extended and Flex with over 4000 hits on them and I really can't hit it a ball out consistently with them. However, with my OG AM, J3A or Legit, no issue. Those new 2-piece bats hit the 52/300 almost as easily as the great old bats hit the 44/375.

 

[jbo911]

No, it doesn't make me concentrate more. It actually re-enforces the fact of how important bats are, WAY more then it was in the past (old ball and pre 08 bat standard) Any good, well broken in ASA composite or good PST or double wall hit the old ball great in the hands of a good hitter. I know it is different for everyone, but I was shocked at how hard it is for me to hit it out with the Hottest previous ASA bats. I have both an Extended and Flex with over 4000 hits on them and I really can't hit it a ball out consistently with them. However, with my OG AM, J3A or Legit, no issue. Those new 2-piece bats hit the 52/300 almost as easily as the great old bats hit the 44/375.

I feel the opposite is true. Hit these balls with a singlewall yet?

 

[Joker]

No, it doesn't make me concentrate more. It actually re-enforces the fact of how important bats are, WAY more then it was in the past (old ball and pre 08 bat standard) Any good, well broken in ASA composite or good PST or double wall hit the old ball great in the hands of a good hitter. I know it is different for everyone, but I was shocked at how hard it is for me to hit it out with the Hottest previous ASA bats. I have both an Extended and Flex with over 4000 hits on them and I really can't hit it a ball out consistently with them. However, with my OG AM, J3A or Legit, no issue. Those new 2-piece bats hit the 52/300 almost as easily as the great old bats hit the 44/375.

I feel the opposite is true. Hit these balls with a singlewall yet?

i agree with jbo

 

[TWmccoy]

I feel the opposite is true. Hit these balls with a singlewall yet?

I feel the opposite too. I hit .52s with every bat I own, many of which are old composites and aluminums. I find that there is actually a lot LESS difference in bats with the .52 ball than there was with the .44. Remember, with .52s the ball is doing much more of the work than with a .44. The bat walls are flexing less. I've found that with .52 balls you don't even need to break in composite bats. I pull the wrapper off and put them straight into games.

That said, my HR numbers are up this year. I'm not necessarily hitting some of them as far as I did with the .44s, but I think the added emphasis on taking good swings at the ball is working and I'm having a very successful year thus far hitting .52s. Doesn't matter what bat I swing either.

Case in point though? Try BPing with a Hammer or a wood bat with .52 balls vs. .44 375s or classic Ms. You'll find it MUCH easier to hit balls over a 300' fence with .52 balls over .44s.
With wood bats or a Hammer the ball is doing ALL the work.

 

[Superstar555]

Yes, this ball made me a better hitter...but only because I stopped trying to hit them out. Too many warning track bombs forced me to to concentrate more on exploiting gaps in the defense rather than just going up there and swinging out of my shoes.

That said, I did hit one out on Friday to opposite field with a 3/4 swing. No idea how, but it just proves the fact that this ball *will* go out if you hit it in the right spot.

 

[TWmccoy]

Yes, this ball made me a better hitter...but only because I stopped trying to hit them out. Too many warning track bombs forced me to to concentrate more on exploiting gaps in the defense rather than just going up there and swinging out of my shoes.

That said, I did hit one out on Friday to opposite field with a 3/4 swing. No idea how, but it just proves the fact that this ball *will* go out if you hit it in the right spot.

I see this sometimes too. A good, smooth swing sometimes produces better results with .52s than brute force. I know I've hit a few HRs on easy swings that were supposed to be slaps into the gap.

 

[tattooball]

This ball is great for guys that work on their game, slackers are going to suffer. I have a new ball coming in June with less and more consistent bounce and plays much better than any. NX3

 

[mdsmoke]

I was screaming at my league's managers meeting when they changed to 52' 275 last year. However, my avg did jump about 40ish points...really just concentrated on hitting the holes. Still hate the dang things but, the avg jump was welcomed.

 

[scuderia]

Being berated by people who've been playing forever has helped me hit better. The less I care about or over analyze hitting/bats/balls the better I hit. I'm not concerned with finesse I just try to Hulk smash the ball as hard as I possibly can. For me the .52's hiss on a rope just like the .44's. *shrugs*

 

[Rocketfire24]

I feel the opposite is true. Hit these balls with a singlewall yet?

No...have not hit a singlewall with a .52. Can't hit the 52 ball out easily with my old bats, but the new ones I can. I have hit a little bp with the old balls and a j3a, just like 5 or 6 hits and I think I hit 3 hrs, 2 of which were longer then anything that I have hit.

Honestly, with my PST Powdershell, I don't see any different results. I also think it is possible that I am just getting old and my bat speed just sucks now, so that is not apples and apples.

 

[nkva]

Better hitter? These balls definitely penalize you for hitting them "square". I have hit several square, where the ball takes off on a line only to knuckle in the OF like a wiffle ball. A few confound the OFers and find grass, but a few also "balloon" up and go from a well struck line drive to an out. The OBP is about the same, but I can't quite embrace a ball that penalizes a player for hitting it solid.

I say that, and can also say that an inside out opposite field liner will absolutely create havoc with the way these balls spin and take insane OF hops. Hence, the old guy leading his team in triples...LOL. A good player can adapt, but this feels like I have gone from a nice round of golf on solid greens to playing putt putt where the gimmick shot is the best shot.

 

[The BP Hero]

This is somewhat related to my other thread about .52 300 balls and how they affect league players. Like I said prior, this is the first year I've seen .52 300 balls in wide use in tournies and leagues.

We all know the balls aren't as easy to hit out as a .44 375, and that you have to hit the barrel consistently and spin them to get results.

So, my question is: Do you think these balls have made you a better hitter? By better hitter I mean, do you pay attention more every at bat to try to find the sweetspot and put spin on the ball? I know I personally find myself working harder to be successful with these balls. I'm noticing results too. I'm mis-hitting less balls than before and am hitting them consistently better than I ever did with .44 375s. Honestly I think when I hit hard balls with hot bats I tend to at times get lazy and get by with less than optimal swings. With .52s you can't get by with lazy swings and missing the barrel. I guess what I'm saying is, since I've started hitting them consistently in games I'm noticing that I take each at bat more seriously and am squaring the ball up noticeably better than before.

Agree with every last word of this. Total control balls are a great tool for learning how a 52 needs to be struck. Tee work and TCB's are easy fixes for people who struggle with this transition. You never hear guys who just started playing the game complaining about them, unless they've heard someone else complain and then use that as their excuse as well. No its not a 44/375 and no its not going to last as long as a multi-layer ball. Much how new bats don't last as long as the old ones. Hard to have your cake and eat it too.

 

[TWmccoy]

All I know is I'm taking better swings at the ball right now. Concentrating harder, finding the sweetspot, waiting for a better pitch. I have seen a few instances of being penalized for well struck balls though. Ones you hit perfectly square that knuckle and end up getting caught.

By and large though, these balls have absolutely made me a better hitter. No more lazy swings and pure muscle. Now it's more about finesse and skill.

 

[SouthSTLOF]

To be brief, yes, I find I concentrate more on my swings with the new 52s, but this is also only my third year playing tournament ball so part of the improvement has been the consistent bp work I've been putting in as well.

 

[Adower]

I was always a single/double hitter so no real difference here since I leg everything out

 

[stork]

I still mostly square them up. I haven't been hitting many deep (non-HR's) so I guess I may be trying to find the gaps more. I will have to wait on trying to do the spin, just trying to hit it hard, not necessarily far.

 

[nkva]

Last night in the last half of the second game, the wind picked up blowing out. It was my first chance to see the 52/300 ball going with the wind. The bottom half of the order of the opposing team had several very weak hitters. Needless to say several pop ups carried to the OF and one "can of corn" carried 290 (ridiculous!!). We have a young kid who looks like an anorexic penguin playing on speed who was playing due to us being short on players and he hit a giant pop up that completely "carried" over the OF. He was all jacked about becoming a power hitter and we were trying to explain that he hit a pop up with 50' of wind carry.

I was intentionally walked my last two at bats thanks to the wind shift. I have never been one to care about the IW as it is a sign of respect. BUT, the wind absolutely changes the game with the new balls in a way I haven't seen in 30 years of playing.

The pitchers for both teams really struggled with the wind too as pitches were breaking almost 3 feet from the Lefty batters box back across the plate.

Side Note: The safety of the ball resulted in two infielders taking crazy hops for nice bruises (I guess one might argue these would have been broken bones instead of bruises.......) and one OF take one in the noggin on a crazy hop.

SO...are the unexpected new hops making you a BETTER FIELDER?

 

[KinGClowN]

They're softballs, I just hit them.

 

[TWmccoy]

I play OF, but I'll admit these balls have made me look bad a time or two. They float and knuckle strangely and you can't often tell by the sound off the bat how well the ball is being hit. Also, the outfields around here are often hard and bumpy, so fielding ground balls out there can be an adventure, as the ball will bounce crazily when you least expect it.

Now, as far as being hit by the ball and it hurting less with .52s, I agree. I got hit hard on the hand about a month ago. I think that with a classic M it might have broken it, but this was a Hycor classic +. It stung for a while, but the pain didn't linger like it always does with .44 balls.

 

[chrometip78]

I think hitting fun balls like BP Rockets or Bullet Derby balls helps me be a better hitter. The confidence and lack of overthinking cause you know the ball will take care of you has helped me.

I know that sounds counterproductive but i find that the occasional 52 gets blasted out with the Rockets during BP when I'm not thinking about the ball and just swinging to hit it how i want. This transfered over to games for me also, the confidence boost from hitting fun balls in BP carried over to games and I hit the 52's better in games cause I wasn't thinking about the ball, I think about what I'm going to do to the ball and let my swing do the rest.

 

[tattooball]

How are the balls I sent you holding up?

 

[chrometip78]

Great, the 1pc balls don't have tears or signs of wear yet, while the synthetic covers on my current stash of BP Rockets are getting torn up. Balls end up hitting a lot of things they are not supposed to like chain link and park equipment. I'm waiting to get new BP balls until your 1pc hit the market. If the 52's perform like the 44's I'm all in to use a 1pc 52 for BP. The 44's you sent me are used at the end of the round like derby balls.

 

[The BP Hero]

I think hitting fun balls like BP Rockets or Bullet Derby balls helps me be a better hitter. The confidence and lack of overthinking cause you know the ball will take care of you has helped me.

I know that sounds counterproductive but i find that the occasional 52 gets blasted out with the Rockets during BP when I'm not thinking about the ball and just swinging to hit it how i want. This transfered over to games for me also, the confidence boost from hitting fun balls in BP carried over to games and I hit the 52's better in games cause I wasn't thinking about the ball, I think about what I'm going to do to the ball and let my swing do the rest.

This is why I feel a mix of balls is good for BP. Hard stuff and some 52's all mixed together. It's all about building confidence.

 

[tattooball]

Good to hear the .44 red stich and isa will be in June 2. The Bp .52, U-Trip and NSA will be shortly behind. Then a special ball will be arriving by end of June just in time for the 4th of July.

 

[FAT JESUS]

The mush balls have made the game not as rewarding, leagues and tourneys are way down out here because of it. Thanks cry babies.

 

[Joker]

 

[FAT JESUS]

Nice try nerd, thats not what I said, take a lap.

 

[Joker]

i see you crying