Testing Their Metal Collegians Using New Aluminum Bats Hack At Records

Arizona State, one of eight teams competing in the 1998 College World Series that began Friday, has one definite disadvantage against its opponents, laments coach Pat Murphy.

“We’re not hitting much as a club,” Murphy said this week.

The Sun Devils’ batting average this season? .314.

But in the hyper-inflated world of today’s college baseball, a .314 average isn’t much better than, well, average.

With the improvement in the development of aluminum bats, college baseball has seen an explosion of offensive statistics in recent years that threatens to revolutionize and, some say, pollute the game.

The increase in run production has been particularly dramatic this season, during which teams are scoring and hitting home runs at a record pace.

Cases in point:

In winning the Atlantic II Regional last week in Tallahassee, Florida State batted. 449, scored 76 runs and compiled a slugging percentage of .860 in four games. Outfielder Matt Diaz hit four homers in one game and seven during the tournament.

The University of Miami captured the Atlantic I Regional by hitting 24 home runs and scoring 70 runs in five games. Five UM players finished the tournament with slugging percentages above 1.000.

The University of Florida and UM smashed their previous single-season home run records. The Gators have hit 127 homers, breaking the former standard of 86. The Hurricanes have hit 137 in 60 games. The previous UM record was 96 homers in 73 games.

The three Florida schools reflect what is happening around the country, NCAA statistics show.

In 1997, Division I schools set records for scoring and home runs. With a week to go in the 1998 season, those numbers seem certain to be surpassed.

“The game is out of balance,” says Bill Thurston, longtime coach at Amherst College and editor of the NCAA’s Division I baseball rules committee. “Today, if you don’t hit .400, you’re not a good hitter.”

Thurston blames bat manufacturers who, he says, are creating aluminum bats that are dangerous to pitchers and lethal to their earned run averages.

While aluminum has been used in college baseball since 1974, manufacturers have begun blending alloys that result in lighter bats that produce trampoline-like effects.

The results are evident in spiraling ERAs. In 1973, the last year of the wooden bat in college baseball, pitchers gave up an average of 3.46 runs. Through mid-season this year, that number stood at 6.14.

That effect causes more and more teams to sit back and wait for the three-run homer. While most offensive numbers were up last season, stolen bases were at a 22-year low.

Two other factors are creating bloated offensive numbers, coaches say.

One is the ever-increasing size of college players. While weight-lifting used to be rare in baseball, virtually every major program in the nation has its own weight-training coach.

And while college hitters are bigger and stronger, pitching talent appears to be diminishing. That, coaches say, is a direct response to the shortage of quality pitching in the major leagues.

“The emphasis in pro scouting is to find the arms, draft them and sign them,” USC coach Mike Gillespie said. “Scouts are under the gun not to miss the good pitchers.”