On deck: A new bat

As Andover junior baseball player Brady Johnson sat in the grandstand watching a recent Gophers baseball game, he couldn't help but concentrate on one thing.

Ball after ball came scorching off the bats as he watched, yet what unfolded before him was not at all familiar.

"A lot of the balls you thought were going to be over the outfielders, or hard line drives," said Johnson, who described the bat as having "less ping" and sounding wood-like. "But they just weren't going as far. They weren't coming off as hard. And they were turning into outs."

Johnson, along with several other players from the Huskies, was paying close attention to every seemingly hard-hit ball -- in a way, as a research project. The college game already has changed with the use of new modified composite-metal bats this year, and the same bat standards will be instituted in high schools in 2012.

The Andover players had common first reactions to the new BBCOR (Ball-bat coefficient of restitution) models, which the National Federation of State High School Associations has named the only legal bats for college this season and for high schools next year. After extensive testing, the BESR (ball-exit speed ratio)-certified bats schools are currently using were deemed unsafe due to an "accelerated break-in period" that causes the ball to travel quicker off the barrel throughout the life of the bat.

But while coaches agree that safety should come first, they also expect the new rules to create several new challenges, both on and off the field. The cost of new bats and the long-term marketing of the sport to new players are among their potential concerns, while adapting strategies to match the anticipated stunt in offensive capability could be an interesting test for coaches.

Some coaches are frustrated, while others find it a welcome change.

A game-changer

As coaches anticipate the new equipment, many already are predicting a considerable change in the way the game will be played. With a much smaller "sweet spot" than the current bat, most foresee a drop-off in offensive numbers, at least initially. Nationwide, college baseball has seen home runs decrease this year by 45 percent (through early May) and runs per game go down by almost 1.5.

"It responds and acts much more like a wood bat," St. Anthony Village coach Troy Urdahl said. "I think the collective baseball world was kind of waiting to see what happened once people started using the bats in games. High schools have gotten a good teaser ... and there's been a dramatic change."

Before the season started, a couple of Eden Prairie players purchased new BBCOR bats, thinking they could get a head start on getting comfortable with them.

"I thought it wasn't going to be much of a difference," senior Lance Thonvold said. "But then I heard it was. ... After that it was like 'Why would I?'"

Because of the assumed statistical changes, coaches suppose there will be a shift in strategy as well, with a larger emphasis on defense and moving runners by bunting and stealing.

"We're going to have to start really paying attention to the small-ball game," Minnetonka coach Paul Twenge said. "It could take four hits to score a run." Twenge remembered a game they had lost recently by three runs. "Next year, that will be a chasm to overcome," he said.

Since players won't be as likely to garner a hit from a ball jammed off the handle -- which happens quite often now -- coaches say players, in some ways, will have to relearn the strike zone.

"People are going to have to be better athletes," Hill-Murray coach Bill Lechner said. "We're going to have to educate them; you need to be a little more pitch-selective. The bat in your hand is not the weapon it once was."

Budget crunch

Barring a substantial budget increase to cover the cost, Gawreluk realizes -- unlike most college programs, which have larger budgets and not the same fundraising-to-reward ratio -- high schools might have to make some sacrifices.

"It's going to cost a lot of money," he said, noting they hoped to get 15 new bats (priced between $150-350 apiece), three each for the five teams they field. "That's a lot of rock salt we sell. That's a lot of Twins tickets.

"And all of these kids that come through as ninth graders, by the time they're seniors they'd like to see the benefits of their fundraising. So it's hard."

Added Lechner, who said his program likely was going to rely on fundraising and donations, as well as many kids that buy their own bats anyway: "We'll get it. It's just kind of frustrating because you literally have thousands of dollars that are just going into a trash can."

A purer game

"Kids look at what they see on TV and they see home runs," Twenge said. "There is a marketing principle for any sport ... trying to make it something that people want to do."

But despite some negative forecasting, many coaches are trying to keep an open mind, while others downright love the switch.

Centennial has hit some of the most home runs in 3A baseball, with 27 through last Thursday. However, Buehner said he couldn't be more pleased about the coming change.

"I think the closer we can move to wood bats the better," he said. "There is some false security with metal bats and hitting mechanics.

"We all like to see home runs but boy, there's nothing I enjoy more than a hard double off the wall or when they have to leg out a triple. That's a fun part of baseball as well."

"It's going to be huge for high school athletes," Twenge said.

All in all, coaches agree they'll simply have to wait and see just how the game is affected.