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MLB says Yankees’ new “torpedo bats” are legal and likely coming

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Re: MLB says Yankees’ new “torpedo bats” are legal and likely coming

#261
post #255
post #243

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I play golf. I write about golf. I genuinely love golf. Over the last 50 years, we have slowly broken the game of golf by allowing incremental technological advancements -- just like this -- that make it easier to do something that is hard, that is making it easier to hit the sweet spot. I am sending a grave warning to baseball fans here from the future that you will arrive at by following this road. Golf used to be…

There’s some consensus though that currently, pitching has evolved much faster than batting due to advances like Trackman and deeper understanding of the relationship between biomechanics, pitch tunneling, spinrate/flight path/movement, and so on. In conjunction with that has been a shift towards “TTO” (three true outcomes - HR/BB/K) on the offensive side, which is a statistically motivated perspective that batting f…

I don't disagree with any of this, I'm just saying that we know where this goes. It's just an arms races if you let it become one. If the pitching is getting too good, make it harder to pitch.

>In short, you would rather have a lower BA and a higher home run rate even if it means a higher K rate, since home runs (and 2Bs) are so significantly more valuable than singles, and fly outs are also much more valuable than ground outs (or really, less bad) due to the opportunities for sac flies and the risk of double plays.

Again, I see this as the tail wagging the dog. It's easy to point to home runs as entertaining, but they a ultimately rather boring. For die hard fans, you want more hits that end up in play, with more strategy, and more opportunity for mistakes and drama. You're not going to get that from home run derbies.

Again, I know it's complicated, but ultimately, most sports organizations face an extremely complicated paradigm. It's fun to follow complicated sports where anything can happen, but it's hard to follow the same sports if you're not already into them. The way you solve this is to make the sports incredibly accessible so people visit games easily and cheaply as entertainment. The American sports system doesn't allow this because there is no relegation system, and so the fan bases are too large to allow the game to be accessible to most people. You end up making decisions that make television more watchable, and by making things "important" by "breaking records." This ultimately dilutes the game because it makes breaking records less relevant over time.

We've got to the point in golf where someone setting an all time PGA scoring record is basically a yawn-fest, because everyone knows they're not playing the same game.

Re: MLB says Yankees’ new “torpedo bats” are legal and likely coming

#262

> Unfortunately, the MLB reviewed the torpedo bats after the game and somehow had zero issues with them? "Unfortunately, the MLB reviewed the torpedo bats after the game and somehow had zero issues with them", isn't a question; adding a question mark just makes me read you with an obnoxious up-tone.

The wonderful thing about human language is that often context implies meaning. It’s more than the words on the page.

Re: MLB says Yankees’ new “torpedo bats” are legal and likely coming

#263

If only the Yankees get access to it (e.g. they patented it and won't let other teams use it) then I could see it as an unfair advantage. In most other areas of America life, though, this innovation would be allowed or even celebrated. I imagine it will go the way of the brilliant strategic innovation a few years back of shifting defenders heavily depending on the batter's statistical hitting patterns. It'll get bann…

Aluminum bats are better than wooden bats. You need arbitrary rules on technology for sporting equipment.

I have no strong feelings on these bats, but there are concerns other than just fairness from one team to the next.

Re: MLB says Yankees’ new “torpedo bats” are legal and likely coming

#264

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You only need one athlete that's willing to. The others will have no choice after that. It's no different than asking if workers should be allowed to work without PPE.

If workers want to work without PPE, then let them. Just ensure that they sign releases acknowledging that the PPE was made available to them and they chose of their own volition to not use it, and that by doing so they release everyone from any liability about what happens to them from not using the PPE.

Foreman: "You want to work today, or go home and tell your family you're broke? No? Then sign the fucking form. We don't pay for PPE here."

Re: MLB says Yankees’ new “torpedo bats” are legal and likely coming

#265

Are we entering the F1 stage of baseball and other sports? I bet there’s room for optimization with gloves and shoes and uniforms. I’m surprised teams haven’t made use of mobile recovery units when visiting away teams (instead of hotels). And there’s still gotta be ways to work around fatigue related to travel and time zone changes. I’m still surprised how basic and limited home team locker rooms can be. There are pr…

Definitely already begun.

Players diets, sleep schedules, low altitude flights…

Re: MLB says Yankees’ new “torpedo bats” are legal and likely coming

#266
post #259
post #243

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I play golf. I write about golf. I genuinely love golf. Over the last 50 years, we have slowly broken the game of golf by allowing incremental technological advancements -- just like this -- that make it easier to do something that is hard, that is making it easier to hit the sweet spot. I am sending a grave warning to baseball fans here from the future that you will arrive at by following this road. Golf used to be…

The data show the only things that have had an impact on golf are the golf ball and speed training. And we’re rolling back the golf ball.

>The data show

It's the clubs and everyone knows it but nobody wants to admit it because the club manufacturers are the money behind the game.

You give a pro a persimmon driver and 70's blades and it doesn't matter if they're hitting a modern ball or the pre-pro v's from the 90s... you can't hit it out of your shoes because you won't be able to hit the sweet spot.

Yes, the ball is a problem, but it's not the problem. The problem is exactly that we've allowed the sweet spot to become too big, which has led to the end of the finesse aspect of the game.

Re: MLB says Yankees’ new “torpedo bats” are legal and likely coming

#267
post #243

I think it's quite cool (disclaimer: I am indeed a dirty Yankees fan) Hitting is really hard. If you feel up to it, and can find a public batting cage near you that has a fast pitch machine (usually maxes out 75-85mph which is 20+ mph less than your typical MLB fastball), give it a shot. When you hit the ball away from the sweet spot, especially on the parts closer to your hands, it really freaking hurts and throws o…

I play golf. I write about golf. I genuinely love golf. Over the last 50 years, we have slowly broken the game of golf by allowing incremental technological advancements -- just like this -- that make it easier to do something that is hard, that is making it easier to hit the sweet spot. I am sending a grave warning to baseball fans here from the future that you will arrive at by following this road. Golf used to be…

Everything you described about golf has already happened in MLB.

Babe Ruth’s wood bat was 44 oz.

Today’s wood bat in MLB are ~33 oz.

The bat Babe Ruth used was so heavy he literally had to swing the bat different than how players can swing the bat today.

There’s a short video on this here: https://youtu.be/P_uiHUJg7zs

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball_bat

—-

Fishing has even undergone this technical change.

FFS (Front Facing Sonar) has completely changed the sport of fishing tournaments, since now you can literally identify where to cast (direction and depth) to catch a fish … and you can even target the fish by their size.

https://youtube.com/shorts/Dw-l_Smuqj8?si=QVvuAoNlfAb_-9F2

Re: MLB says Yankees’ new “torpedo bats” are legal and likely coming

#268

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You only need one athlete that's willing to. The others will have no choice after that. It's no different than asking if workers should be allowed to work without PPE.

If workers want to work without PPE, then let them. Just ensure that they sign releases acknowledging that the PPE was made available to them and they chose of their own volition to not use it, and that by doing so they release everyone from any liability about what happens to them from not using the PPE.

Your comments go to show either a concerning lack of thought towards second-order effects, or a disturbing lack of empathy towards your fellow humans.

Re: MLB says Yankees’ new “torpedo bats” are legal and likely coming

#269

I suspect this may result in more pitches away to these batters so they have to make contact on the narrower end of the bat. I.e. it's a move that may well have a counter move.

Folks will start to use longer bats then and crowd the plate. Of course that'll be countered with more inside pitching.

Re: MLB says Yankees’ new “torpedo bats” are legal and likely coming

#270

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If workers want to work without PPE, then let them. Just ensure that they sign releases acknowledging that the PPE was made available to them and they chose of their own volition to not use it, and that by doing so they release everyone from any liability about what happens to them from not using the PPE.

Your comments go to show either a concerning lack of thought towards second-order effects, or a disturbing lack of empathy towards your fellow humans.

If everyone else is using PPE, but you choose not to wear PPE, there's no empathy to be given. You may think the need for PPE is a hoax, but that's not anyone else's problem if there's a direct repercussion for your actions.

The problem was not offered as your sibling comment as a forced decision. Some people choose to juice, others do not. That same logic applied to if you want to do it, here's the waiver to acknowledge it was your decision. I can feel sorry for someone's family for being related to a dunce, but no empathy is required on my part for the dunce.

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