High school baseball will change with a bat that doesn't fly! ?

Koshien Stadium is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the first Senbatsu High School baseball tournament.

A new standard metal bat will be introduced in this milestone year.

The standards were reviewed for the first time in 23 years to reduce rebound force, with the main purpose of protecting pitchers from injury.

Schools participating in the Senbatsu tournament are also trying to find ways to deal with bats that don't fly.

(Yasuhiro Namimatsu, Senbatsu reporting team)

“The ball doesn’t fly and I don’t score points.”

"It really doesn't fly at all. I think the outfielder's regular position is 4 or 5 meters in front of him."

"If the ball hits off-center and hits first, or if it gets jammed, it won't even go over the head of the infielder. It's just batting practice. Maybe a wooden bat will fly better.”

A new standard bat that reflects the hardships and concerns of the players and coaches of the participating schools.

The upper limit of the bat diameter has been reduced by 3 mm compared to before.

Furthermore, the thickness of the metal where the ball hits has been increased by 1 mm.

The inside of the metal bat is hollow, and the dented part that hits the ball returns like a trampoline and has the effect of repelling the ball, but new standards will reduce this effect.

Tests conducted by the Japan High School Baseball Federation (Takano Ren) show that the initial velocity and average velocity of the ball will be more than 3% slower than before, and the flight distance will be 5 to 6 meters lower.

Osaka Toin High School coach Koichi Nishitani, who has won the spring/summer Koshien tournament eight times, the most in history, also points out that it has a big impact on the development and content of games.

Osaka Toin Director Koichi Nishitani

Osaka Toin Coach Koichi Nishitani

: ``I feel like it will take a lot of time to get used to it.Even though we played against Kouhaku in preparation for Senbatsu, we didn't score any points, and some games ended in about 1 hour and 40 minutes.Low-scoring games. I think there will definitely be an increase in the number of games that go into overtime tie-breaks."

Yamabiko, PL, and Major Leaguers also celebrate 50 years since the introduction of metal bats.

Metal bats became allowed to be used in high school baseball in 1974, 50 years ago.

In the past, wooden bats were used in high school baseball as well as in professional baseball, but since they were prone to breaking and required frequent replacement, the aim was to reduce the economic burden.

With the introduction of metal bats, which have a wider core and higher repulsion than wooden bats, high school baseball, which used to be centered around small tricks such as sending bunts, has completely changed.

In the 1980s, Ikeda High School (Tokushima) dominated Koshien with a powerful batting line called the ``Yamabiko batting line'' because of the continuous high-pitched metallic sound.

1982 Ikeda (Tokushima)

The number of home runs was all in the single digits at Senbatsu held at Koshien Stadium before the introduction of metal bats, but in 1984, PL Gakuen (Osaka), which had the "K-K duo", was active and recorded a tournament record. 30 pieces popped out.

1984 PL Gakuen (Osaka)

Over the past 50 years, a lot of history has been written in high school baseball along with metal bats, such as Shohei Otani, who is active in the major leagues, hit a home run in Senbatsu 12 years ago.

2012 Hanamaki East (Iwate)

Why review metal bats?

On the other hand, preventing injuries and reducing the burden on pitchers has become an issue.

In recent years, the performance of bats has improved, and in some cases the ball hit by a batter travels at a speed of 180 km/h, faster than the ball thrown by a pitcher.

During a national high school baseball game in the summer of 2018, there was an accident where a pitcher was hit directly in the face, resulting in a broken bone.

The Takanoren hopes that by suppressing the rebound force, it will prevent such accidents, and by changing the current situation that favors batters, it will also lead to a reduction in the burden on pitchers, such as by reducing the number of pitches they need to pitch.

Measures against new bats: Review of body building

Schools participating in the Senbatsu tournament have been working on measures to prevent bats from flying this winter.

Kyoto Kokusai High School, participating for the first time in three years, revised their physical training.

I incorporated training into my warm-up and have been training thoroughly for an hour and a half every day.

I paid particular attention to the strength in the back of my body, such as my back and the back of my thighs, which is necessary to hit the ball far.

In practice using a ball weighing 2 kilograms, instead of relying on the strength of the arms, the players used their back and back thigh muscles to repeatedly throw the ball far with their entire body.

The players' average weight has increased by about 5 kg compared to last fall, and they are feeling positive because they have been doing weight training every day, which they had rarely done before.

Kyoto International Coach Noritsugu Komaki

Kyoto International Manager Noritsugu Komaki

: ``We reviewed our training because we knew that someday we would reach a dead end.I think more and more teams will focus on defense and base running, but on the other hand, if we can hit, the chances of us winning even more. I want to create a batting lineup that can use bats that meet new standards."

Kyoto International Player Yoki Fujimoto

Kyoto Kokusai player Yoki Fujimoto

: ``I've gained 7 kg over the winter, and my swing speed, batted ball speed, and flight distance have changed, so I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of results I'll get in the game. I hope I can hit the ball.”

New bat measures: Hitting with a wooden bat

Kanto Daiichi High School (Tokyo), which averaged nearly 10 points per game last fall, the most points of any participating school, has returned to its roots and practiced repeatedly.

The players use wooden bats in practice.

Compared to metal, the core is smaller, so you can learn the technique of hitting the ball accurately, and we believe that the feeling of swinging the bat in a way that allows it to bend without relying on too much force can be used to create a new standard for bats.

Teppei Takahashi, who is the captain and bats No. 4, has been playing so thoroughly that he has chipped away at the core of his bat.

Kanto Daiichi Teppei Takahashi

Kanto Daiichi Player Teppei Takahashi

: ``The ball won't fly if it's made of wood unless it flexes, so I was able to learn how to use my body correctly to make it flex.If you hit metal in the same way, it's lighter. Even with force, you can send it far away.”

Improve your score by improving your skills and mobility

What's more, I've been honing my skills and mobility this winter.

This is because we believe that with a bat that doesn't fly, it will be difficult to score points just by hitting, and we need to expand the range of our attacks.

In actual practice, in a one-out situation at second base, the second base runner started at the same time as the batter's swing, and then checked the base running to judge the batted ball.

Kanto Daiichi Director Takamitsu Yonezawa

Kanto Daiichi Coach Takamitsu Yonezawa

: ``I'm not the type of person who does a lot of squeezes, but this winter I've increased my practice on that kind of strategy.If I play against a good pitcher, I'm afraid I won't be able to score much.'' I can imagine it, so I want to find out how I can get that one point.”

Will high school baseball change?

In Senbatsu, some teams are considering using wooden bats in games, as they are more familiar to them than the new standard metal bats, and they believe they can fly farther.

Furthermore, because the ball will not travel as far, there is a possibility that pitch distribution may change, such as fielders defending further forward than before or pitchers aggressively attacking the strike zone.

Will high school baseball change with the introduction of “non-flying” bats?

All eyes are on Senbatsu, which will be the first national tournament.

(Broadcast on Hot Kansai NW9 on March 12th)