Fourth in a series of stories about College baseball and the KU Jayhawks.  Earlier entries:
KU Baseball Preview
College Baseball 101: The Season and the Tournaments
College Baseball 101: Quality of Play and Conferences

College Rules
There are only a few rule differences between college baseball and professional baseball.  The College game is supposed to be more collegial (ha ha), so physical contact between opposing players is discouraged.  It is illegal for a runner to collide with a defensive player in an attempt to dislodge the ball. This eliminates collision plays at the plate between catcher and base runner.  When a player comes in to score and there is no play at the plate catchers normally give the runner a wide lane.  When the play is close and the runner makes contact with the catcher, the umpire may judge that the purpose of the collision was to make contact, not to reach the plate. If this is the case the baserunner is automatically called out and, if the contact was "flagrant," he is also ejected from the game.  The only time I saw this rule abused was last year.  I forgot who the opposing team was (let's just say it was Missouri because I hate that team) but when the Jayhawk catcher was knocked down in a play at the plate both benches emptied and it took several minutes before the game could be continued.

All College teams use the DH rule.  Not all College games go 9 innings, a "mercy rule" exists, but it comes into play rarely.  The "mercy rule" is in effect during tournament play, and on "get away days" (i.e. Sundays).  Any time one team is ahead by 10 or more runs and the trailing team has had at least 7 innings at bat the game is called.  In the two years that I have been following KU baseball I can think of only two times when this rule came into effect.  

Another rule that can shorten a game is the simple "get away" rule, in which games are halted at 6PM (I think) Sundays to insure that all students can back to their campuses for Monday morning classes.  These games are given a decision if at least five innings have been completed.  If five innings have not been completed the game is erased.  If a game is rained out and cannot be made up during the same series then it is eliminated from the schedule.  If a game is eliminated from the schedule the two teams can than schedule an additional game against a different opponent to make up the missed game.  In 2005 KU had a game rained out at Texas Tech so added a last minute game against St. Mary's College at home.  St. Mary's (NAIA) didn't prove to be up to KU's level but Coach Price showed again that he is willing to do whatever he can to make sure his team gets as much time on the field as possible.  The St. Mary's game gave playing time to several substitute players and time on the mound to some young arms, plus admission was free, giving the fans a small thank you present.

"PING"
The biggest difference between college baseball and pro baseball is the use of aluminum bats.  If you think this degrades the game, well, join the rest of the world.  Pro scouts hate the use of aluminum bats because it makes projecting college talent harder.  Infielders hate using aluminum bats because the ball comes off the bat faster than it does off a wooden bat and fielding hot shots can be a nightmare.  In college the hardest position to field is probably 3B and Pitcher, not Shortstop, due to the increased speed of the ball off the metal bats.  Add to this the growing realization that strong kids swinging aluminum bats and sending 110mph line drives at heads located 50 to 60 feet away is simply dangerous.  Every year a few kids die playing baseball in high-school or college, and it is believed that many of these deaths could have been prevented if wooden bats were in use.

When a ball is hit in an aluminum bat's "sweet spot" a trampoline effect occurs.  The aluminum bat gives a fraction of an inch on contact, and then expands back out to its original dimension, thus propelling the ball faster.  Also, the weight of an aluminum bat can be manipulated so most of the mass falls in the center of the bat rather than uniformly up the shaft.  This allows the batter to produce greater bat speed, thus cutting down on strikeouts and increasing the power behind line drives.  Everything about aluminum bats favors the batter, and forces the fielder to react more quickly and decisively.

Pro scouts so hate the use of aluminum bats that they flock to summer games in competitive amateur leagues such as the Cape Cod League to watch college players compete while using wooden bats.  "Can this kid really swing?'  "Does he really have a good eye, or is it just the bat and not his eye making contact?'  The Reds drafted University of Texas All-American outfielder Drew Stubbs in the first round last year.  His numbers his last year at UT, and his first year in Rookie Ball:

.342 / .439 / .580 / 1.019 - (HR% = 4.2%)
.252 / .368 / .400 / .768 - (HR% = 2.4%)

Rookie Level ball should be two levels below Big-12 level baseball.  Stubbs performance in Billings was considered so bad that, after only 56 minor league games he is already being written off as a bust by many baseball writers.  The explanation these writers keep bringing up is that Stubbs couldn't make the transition from metal to wood last summer.  Now, it is much too early to reach any firm conclusion about Stubbs, but he is a good example as to why pro scouts hate the use of aluminum in the college game.  If Stubbs doesn't turn it around next year, the Reds will have lost a first round pick and about $2M on a player who might never play above single-A level ball.

So, the big question, Why do colleges still use aluminum bats?  The answer really is money.  Here at KU every player will probably go through 50 to 100 wooden bats in the course of a year.  Each bat costs about $20.  That same player will only go through about 4 or 5 aluminum bats.  KU saves tens of thousands of dollars a year by using aluminum bats.  KU, and other big conference teams, could probably afford to spend an extra $20K a year on the baseball team and use wooden bats, but could St. Mary's?  There are over 500 college baseball programs today, and probably 30 or 40 of them actually make money for the school.  It is argued that if wooden bats were made mandatory in the NCAA then dozens of schools would drop their programs due to financial necessity.

Hope for the Future
The idea of the big conferences switching to wooden bats during conference play has been floated before, but it is not a realistic option.  Switching players back and forth between aluminum and wood every few days would mess with the player's rhythm and make the teams less competitive in non-conference and post-season play.  If a change is going to be made it probably will need to be NCAA wide, not just conference by conference.  But you never know.....

Note: Zlax45 pointed out after this article was written that one NCAA D-II conference, the Northeast 10, has switched to wooden bats during leauge play. Apparently the fans of these teams notice a significant drop in the batters power when the wooden bats are dusted off and put into use. See comments section for more. Thanks Zlax45.

The NCAA and aluminum bat makers have tried to respond to the problems documented above by regulating the manufacture of bats to decrease the trampoline effect, but even if the regulations are followed the effect would only be diminished, not eliminated.  I don't see the problem of aluminum being eliminated in the very near future, but I do think metal bats are on a collision course with extinction within the next generation.  Why?  Law suits.  Every player seriously injured or killed by a ball struck by an aluminum bat represents a potential legal liability.  Once a few of these law suits make their way through the court system, athletic departments will realize that the use of metal bats are not only degrading the game of baseball and putting thier players at increased risk of injury, but are also putting their departments under threat of crippling liability.  I expect the courts will force colleges and high schools to eventually do the right thing.

Now if only I could think of a way for teams to be sued for using Designated Hitters we could eliminate that other blasphemy to the game.

Since I've written so much already in this column I'll start another over the weekend dealing with when college players can and cannot be drafted, and why some players who are drafted and offered signing bonuses decide to play in college rather than make the jump.

Don't Forget!  There are 27 days before Opening Day.  February 1st at Hawaii-Hilo.  First home game for the mighty Jayhawks, February 9th vs. South Dakota State @3PM, Hoglund Park.