TWmccoy
3DX Connoisseur
OK, so we all know that the bat/ball combo has gotten fairly out of control in terms of guys with sissy swings blowing balls 350' without even trying.
I finally found a place where things are different. USSSA Space Coast complex in Viera, FL. I played military worlds down there this past weekend and was shocked at how truly hard it was to hit balls out. I'm generally an Easton guy here in CO, but I didn't even bother with them down there. I swung a '16 DC41 the whole tourny. I've had this particular DC41 for 3 years now. I don't even swing it often in CO because I feel like its too much bat. Not the case in FL.
The balls I hit well went out, sometimes by 50' or more. However, any ball that was hit even an iota less than perfect would die out at 300'. Fields weren't huge, probably 320'. We were playing on the white fields at the new complex. Balls used were ZN classic Ms. The ball itself felt OK coming off the bat (not super mushy), but wouldn't fly well at all. I won't even say the wind was a huge factor, though it did blow fairly steadily and always the same direction.
We were allowed 6 HRs per game and I never saw a team use more than 4. Great majority of games I saw had 0 HRs. There was no bat testing and guys could essentially swing any USSSA bat they wanted.
I guess my point here is, I feel that at USSSA's new complex you need to be a legit HR hitter to hit HRs. I was able to get into a few balls pretty well, but even the most minor of mis hits fluttered and died in the OF. I know I've railed on about ZN classic Ms being too much ball, but in FL that isn't the case at all. You need a legit swing to put a ball out of a 320' field midday when its 92 degrees and humid out.
On a side note, I didn't think the stadium ball flew that great in the new stadium either. I watched a couple games there and saw a few HRs. Many seemingly well hit balls died at the fence. Wind seems to blow out of the LF corner there toward the 1B dugout. Not favorable for really any hitters. Righties were the only ones I saw hitting any HRs in the stadium.
I finally found a place where things are different. USSSA Space Coast complex in Viera, FL. I played military worlds down there this past weekend and was shocked at how truly hard it was to hit balls out. I'm generally an Easton guy here in CO, but I didn't even bother with them down there. I swung a '16 DC41 the whole tourny. I've had this particular DC41 for 3 years now. I don't even swing it often in CO because I feel like its too much bat. Not the case in FL.
The balls I hit well went out, sometimes by 50' or more. However, any ball that was hit even an iota less than perfect would die out at 300'. Fields weren't huge, probably 320'. We were playing on the white fields at the new complex. Balls used were ZN classic Ms. The ball itself felt OK coming off the bat (not super mushy), but wouldn't fly well at all. I won't even say the wind was a huge factor, though it did blow fairly steadily and always the same direction.
We were allowed 6 HRs per game and I never saw a team use more than 4. Great majority of games I saw had 0 HRs. There was no bat testing and guys could essentially swing any USSSA bat they wanted.
I guess my point here is, I feel that at USSSA's new complex you need to be a legit HR hitter to hit HRs. I was able to get into a few balls pretty well, but even the most minor of mis hits fluttered and died in the OF. I know I've railed on about ZN classic Ms being too much ball, but in FL that isn't the case at all. You need a legit swing to put a ball out of a 320' field midday when its 92 degrees and humid out.
On a side note, I didn't think the stadium ball flew that great in the new stadium either. I watched a couple games there and saw a few HRs. Many seemingly well hit balls died at the fence. Wind seems to blow out of the LF corner there toward the 1B dugout. Not favorable for really any hitters. Righties were the only ones I saw hitting any HRs in the stadium.