Monday, August 17, 1998
The University Daily Kansan
Section B·Page 19
NCAA strikes out against metal bats
The Associated Press
CHICAGO — College baseball players will use less powerful bats in the 2000 season because of rules the NCAA Executive Committee has approved.
Citing concerns that metal alloy bats work too well, the committee changed the rules Wednesday to make the bats perform more like traditional wooden bats.
Samuel H. Smith, chairman of the NCAA Executive Committee, which approved the changes, said the potential for injury to a defensive player was real and serious.
The changes, which take effect Aug. 1, 1999, limit the size of the bat. The rules, which include making the bats narrower, are intended to make sure the ball does not leave the bat at any greater speed than 93 mph. The bats being used now send the ball into the field at speeds of up to 113 mph.
Advances in design and metalurgy in the 1990s have led to bats that send the ball rocketing into the field. That, critics say, has destroyed the character of the college game and put fielders in leopardy.
The NCAA's Baseball Rules Committee recommended the changes and set January 1999 as the effective date.
Smith said that was too soon. "We need to be sure we will have the bats available," he said.
Steve Baum, whose company makes a bat that combines the durability of metal with the less explosive properties of wood, called the delay a cop-out.
"It allows one more year of unsafe conditions for the kids," said Baum, president of Baum Research and Development Co.
Scott Christ, chief executive officer of KC Slammer, which makes wooden bats, also questioned the decision to wait.
"I was a little bit surprised on the delay since they basically acknowledged that they know the bats are dangerous," he said.
"If that is the case, why the delay? You hope it's not so that Easton can liquidate their inventory," he said.
Easton Sports Inc., maker of a popular line of alloy bats, stands to lose millions in sales.
"No one wants to buy a bat today that cannot be used next year," said James Easton, company chairman.
He said the decision to wait gave his company breathing room.
Easton is suing the NCAA for $267 million, charging restraint of trade and collusion with Baum's company, which Easton says makes the only bat that meets the new specifications. Baum also made the machine that the NCAA used to test the speed of batted balls.
Smith said the committee did not discuss the potential effect on Easton Sports and that the lawsuit was not a major factor in the decision.
Baum is suing Easton and two other bat-makers, charging antitrust violations.
Easton said that the alloy bats were no more dangerous than other types and that he hoped the NCAA could be persuaded to change its mind after reviewing evidence compiled from tests by an independent scientist.
"We really think the solution can only be found through sound scientific analysis," Easton said.
Many cite this year's College World Series championship game as an example of how offense-oriented the game has become in the era of alloy bats. Southern Cal defeated Arizona State 21-14 in that game.
"Is it the bats or is it the bigger, stronger players?" Easton asked. "I think there's some of each."
College baseball tournament plans expansion to 64 teams
The Associated Press
OMAHA, Neb. — With college baseball anxious to improve its credibility and expand its fan base, the NCAA apparently has found a way to do both at the same time.
Coaches and administrators Thursday hailed the expansion of the NCAA tournament from 48 to 64 teams and welcomed news that powerful aluminum bats were made to perform more like wooden bats.
Meeting Wednesday in Chicago, the NCAA's Board of Directors approved expansion of college baseball regionals. The extra week for additional games pushes next year's College World Series to June 11.
"I haven't talked to anyone who isn't excited about these improvements," said Wake Forest athletics director Ron Wellman, chairman of the NCAA baseball committee.
Expansion will allow automatic bids for each major conference and create 16 four-team regions. Prevl
ously, there were eight regionals, with each winner advancing to the College World Series in Omaha.
With the new format, regional winners would advance to eight two team "super-regionalists" June 4-5. The winners go to Omaha.
Although the CWS field will remain at eight, the expanded tournament allows the NCAA to stage additional regionals in parts of the country that typically have not held regionals.
For years, college baseball has been dominated by schools from warm-weather states such as Arizona, California, Florida, Louisiana and Texas. Wellman said officials wanted to make the sport more popular elsewhere.
"With an expanded bracket, we
can select more teams," Wellman said. "We can make it more of national game."
The decision also offers hope for good teams that have long struggled behind the dominant schools in each conference.
"We're in a similar situation as some of the Southeastern Conference teams," said Pat Casey, Oregon State coach. "You can be a pretty good team in the SEC and still finish sixth."
Pending is a measure that would delay the start of the season by up to three weeks. Coaches at northern schools, where teams often practice indoors early in the season, argue the move is the next step toward increased national parity.
"When you're recruiting a kid and he asks about the weather, you can't lie," said Nebraska coach Dave Van Horn.
In the last decade, only three n- southern schools — Creighton in 1991. Kansas in 1993 and Wichita
State, five times — have advanced to Omaha.
NCAA officials said they hoped the restrictions on bat performance would make college baseball safer for players and more palatable for fans
Southern California beat Arizona State 21-14 in this year's championship game. The four-hour marathon featured five pitchers on each team serving up a batting practice that produced 39 hits — nine of those hits home runs.
"Coaches included, nobody wants to see an 18-6 game," said Arizona coach Jerry Stitt. "With the changes to the bats, I think you'll see more strategy come into play: more hit-and-runs and more defense."
The NCAA also approved tournament expansion for four other sports; softball (from 32 to 48 teams), women's volleyball (from 56 to 64), soccer (from 32 to 48), and men's and women's cross country (from 184 national qualifiers to 25).
Despite father's death, Missouri star returns
The Associated Press
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Corby Jones is back in a Missouri uniform, but there is no denying that this year will be different for him.
"Corby knows that the worst part's not over with yet because he hasn't been out there to practice and look over to the sideline and see that his dad isn't there," said running back Devin West, a fellow senior and one of Jones' closest friends. "Once he gets over that, I think he'll be fine."
Jones attended media day with the team Wednesday and practiced for the first time this season Thursday. It is his first time back in uniform since his father, assistant coach Curtis Jones, died July 26 of a heart attack.
Jones enters his senior season as one of the nation's most heralded quarterbacks. But instead of casual chatting about high hopes and lofty expectations, as is normally the case when reporters and players gather on the eve of the first full-squid workouts, Jones opened a part of his personal life for inspection.
When his father, Curtis Jones, a popular assistant coach at Missouri for 10 years, died at age 55, Corby's life was tossed about violently. Curtis called most of the players "son," and his easy smile and cordial nature, as well his ability as a personal counselor, were important parts of the football foundation at Missouri.
He never boasted about his son's talent or exploits, expressing his pride in a
Jones: Enters sea son as standout quarterback.
quiet, dignified way. And he always insisted that on the field, they were coach and player, nothing more.
But he and Corby enjoyed a special bond; they were the best of friends, as well as father and son. In the numbing hours after his dad's unexpected death, Corby wondered seriously whether he would be able to return to the game
that they had shared and loved, always together.
Coach Larry Smith's squad will have three days of double workouts in Columbia before returning to Lexington, Mo., where they will work for a week in close quarters at Wentworth Military Academy.
Missouri is coming off its first winning season and bowl trip since 1983. The Tigers went 7-5 last season, but they are facing a tougher schedule and some vital personnel losses.
The catalyst, once again, must be Jones. After smashing many school records as a junior, when he was voted to the All-Big 12 Conference first team, he begins his third season as a starter in good physical shape. And his mental shape?
"I'm doing OK, doing OK," assured Jones, less than two weeks after his father's funeral. "I've got some things that I need to work through and that I need to deal with on my own."
West said, "Right now, Corby's in his own world. He knows that it's going to be hard for him ... I think he knows that he can do it, and he knows what his dad wants him to do."
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