Hitting a .52 ball square does not yield the results it should. Absolutely crushing a ball, and having it go about 250' isnt right. Having to redo your swing, and start 'cutting" the ball to hit it out is ridiculous. Hitting a .52 sounds like hitting a rolled up sock, lot of fun.
.52 balls- Have they made you a better hitter?
- Thread starter TWmccoy
- Start date
swingnmiss
#1 IN YOUR HEARTS
Ooooooooooh...............Makes me feel good all over.
Hiltz
Built for comfort
gaternation
Addicted to Softballfans
Amen brother, unfortunately there's nothing that will be done. The powers that be have spoken and unless there is mass amounts of guys leaving softball they won't change. After all the amounts of guys who died from 2003-2013 were in the thousands from batted softballs
TWmccoy
3DX Connoisseur
You hit it wrong if it's only going 250'. Like any other ball, you have to impart spin on it to get distance. If you're hitting the ball flush and it knuckles, you aren't doing it right. Hitting a .44 won't really change that. I've seen those balls do exactly the same thing when you square them up just so.
Joker
Well-Known Member
amen brother, unfortunately there's nothing that will be done. The powers that be have spoken and unless there is mass amounts of guys leaving softball they won't change. After all the amounts of guys who died from 2003-2013 were in the thousands from batted softballs
ccsoftball7
Addicted to Softballfans
Exactly. I can hit the .52 as far as I could hit the .44.
mattya420
Manager
I disagree. I can still put them out with a .52. Haven't had to adjust my swing that much. I don't see what the issue is. I'm not a huge masher and never have been. Maybe level out your swing and stop trying to hit it out. Or maybe you're not the man you think you are.:canada:
You weren't hitting knuckleballs 350 with a 44 and are now hitting them 250 with a 52. That's ridiculous. Either your other balls were spinning and you didn't realize it, you had a 25 mph tailwind, or you're just exaggerating because you think we're stupid.
It does sound like crap, but as a person that hits to win and get hits I don't mind that since it makes it harder for OF to judge by sound.
My pitcher took a line drive off the temple last year from the greatest hitter we have up here in Canada, he missed 2 months with a concussion and has a little bit of issues (post concussion syndrome) but nothing more.
If we were using the .44's I would have watched a very good friend of mine die right in front of my own eyes.
Im ok with the 52's!
Just adjust your swing and you can still hit them out.
Yeah, I am exaggerating at how bad the .52 are to hit here in Oregon. Maybe it is because of the high humidity here, but these balls feel like old rolled up socks when anyone hits them. There is zero feedback when you hit it. I can still hit the ball out, but most of the hard hit balls I used to hit out now barely even carry to the warning track. .52s dont carry at all, they seem to float more than anything. I have zero problems just trying to hit base hits, but it takes a lot of the fun out of the game hitting nerf balls.
chrometip78
The Hungarian Barbarian
Hitting a real 350' knuckler would be another level of impressive with any ball.
They are actually better in the extreme heat than the 44's, and I used to agree about no feedback or response when you make contact because you can really feel the harder balls off your bat...
but the more we use the 52's the more you understand the feel of it and youll know how well you get in, it just takes some adjustment time.
chrometip78
The Hungarian Barbarian
This will likely be the case once the 52's are the "normal" softball everywhere.
My biggest issue with softball right now is all the different balls in play everywhere you go and how you deal with that defensively. 52cor vs 44cor vs 40cor all play very differently through the infield and that's the scariest thing for me. Play against a different ball each league night and as balls are fouled out of play, different old stock gets thrown in.
gaternation
Addicted to Softballfans
I soooo love it when a 44/375 gets thrown in by accident and the balls just rocket off:thumb:. That feeling is pretty sweet
Pretty
Softball is cool
I am not going to lie, I am amazed by the amount of bitching about this ball. I usually don't chime iN and just read but.....
Learn to hit the 52, apply what you learned to the harder ball when you come across it. You will still have good results. Christ sakes spend less time posting and more time on bp if it matters this much to u.
Learn to hit the 52, apply what you learned to the harder ball when you come across it. You will still have good results. Christ sakes spend less time posting and more time on bp if it matters this much to u.
Man of Steele
Addicted to Softballfans
and he should know firsthand about bad hitting!
TWmccoy
3DX Connoisseur
I agree. I hit almost entirely .52s in BP, so using them in games isn't really a huge adjustment. I've had to fine tune a couple things hitting them, but overall I'm succeeding.
swingnmiss
#1 IN YOUR HEARTS
I had to focus on a more controlled swing, better mechanics and impact point on the ball.........Rather than just swinging hard with balance and letting things happen.
Gamble
Addicted to Softballfans
It's because some places figured out teams were bringing ISA balls when they didn't specify anything beyond CoR and comp. I've done it before; the slightly smaller size and weight were good for an extra 10' easy. And you could get multilayers after they stopped being made for ASA.
The BP Hero
Addicted to Softballfans
100% agree with all of this.
TWmccoy
3DX Connoisseur
Agree. Every time I rear back with a really hard swing on a .52 I end up topping it or hitting a knuckleball that goes nowhere. More finesse is definitely needed than with .44 balls.
whitaker201
Addicted to Softballfans
Ohhhh. I didn't know that. I learned something today from SBF!
Crusher09
2x Pinewood Derby Champ!
I don't understand all the crying about the 52. We are in our second year here with them and I don't think there is much of a difference in hitting them. I actually like them because they are way more consistent in all temps. If anybody should be crying its the infielders. These things take some wicked bounces. I will say this. I took a like drive off the shin the other night and although it hurt, I was able to keep playing. Not sure I would have had the same outcome with the 44.
hey guys iam new here ..I too am in a league that just switched to the 52 c hot dot and iam wondering what would be the best bat to buy to hit these balls the best some or one specific bat must out perform on these hotdot balls and if iam gonna spend 300 i wanna get the best so any help would be apprecieated.....Also what is cuttiing the ball mean or up higher it said get the shavers out which i assume is the same as cutting the ball anyway any feed back would be great thanks alot. ANYONE ?
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beernbombs
Abby's dad
This must depend on what you're swinging. 44s and ASA pre ABI left the park on mi****s on a very regular basis, no matter the temp. And I have seen plenty of 'no doubters' hit with the 52s, but nothing like the number of near 400 footers with the 44s.
As for the feel off the bat, the 52 lies. Knuckle shots are much more prevalent and though they feel great they generally fall far short of the fence.
Not seeing a lot of 400 footers with 44s above 90 degrees.