Original Hypothesis: Eliminating aluminum bats and having athletes use composite bats throughout their entire careers allows the athletes to feel more comfortable.

Working Hypothesis 1: Athletes capabilities have changed throughout eras because of their mental and physical care, as well as improvements in technology. 

Working Hypothesis 2: Athletes can not be compared throughout eras because of the drastic changes in equipment and technology.  

Definition Argument: In this, I focused on improvements of different sports games. I talked about the processes of advancing in equipment design and how things like softball bats are being made with bigger sweet sports and more durable material so that the ball is hit harder and further. I also discussed the idea that athletes can not be compared from different eras. There are so many “greats” that have achieved world recognizable achievements. Yet, the greats of the 1900’s are not comparable to the greats of the 2000’s because of the changes that have been made to the game since their playing careers.  

Causal Argument:  I discussed the idea of a double barrel bat once again in this. Being a softball player, I have experienced first hand how things like this work. So, I have experienced things like a composite bat compared to an aluminum bat. I also vividly remember when the first double barrel bat came out and everyone needed to get it so that they would hit the ball harder and further than ever before. I also discussed the improved technology that has developed through the years to ensure that athletes are playing at the safest and most efficient rate possible. I used the argument about windsurfing and how it is possible to “overshoot” a sport. This is when you overdo the technology and make it impossible to make the sport any more advanced. The advancements that have been made throughout the years have made huge strides in the sports field. 

Rebuttal Argument: In this argument, I focused on the ongoing debate about whether you can compare athletes of the present to the past. My argument said that you can not compare them. I argued that while records are constantly being shattered in every Olympic game, they are coming up with the newest and highest quality materials and adjustments to make sure that the athletes can perform to their highest standard. In previous olympic games, less efficient materials have been used in things like track events. The material used to push off starting blocks have drastically changed from runners needing to dig themselves a hole to having efficient blocks that can save them a stride. Overall, equipment advancements have prevented athletes from ever truly being able to be compared to one another. 

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I used this source a lot because it had very informative information that helped support my main claims. David Epstein 

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Current State: Need to finish editing the visual rhetoric and the essays