Considering purchasing a new bat for the 2009 season? The 2008 off-season brought about many new bat rules, but surprisingly, Little League and USSSA did not adjust their bat performance factor (BPF) requirement down to 1.0. Here is a summary of the changes:
Little League:
- All bats certified for LL must have a label stating BPF = 1.15 or less. This is only a bat labeling change. The testing procedure and certification level remain unchanged. In fact, many bat manufactures have been putting this label on the bat for a few years.
- Junior League bats maximum diameter is now 2 5/8" (instead of 2 3/4"). This rule change aligns Jr. League with all the other non-wooden bat rules. Wood bat still are allowed to have 2 3/4" inch diameters.
ASA:
- ASA (Amateur Softball Association) changed their testing procedures so that composite bats are broken in to an equivalent of 1000 bat-ball collisions before certification testing. Bats certified under the 2008 and prior certification process can be used until they are considered no longer safe for use. Metal bat certification remains unchanged.
NCAA (and probably NFHS):
- NCAA announced that starting in the 2011 season, all bats must have a BBCOR (bat-ball coefficient-of-restitution) = 0.5 or less. No exceptions. This is an interesting change since the current bat speed exit ratio's (BESR) consists of two major influencing components: BBCOR and MOI (moment of inertia). BBCOR measures the "springiness" of the bat and MOI is how fast you can swing the bat and is dependent on the bat weight and the location of the bat's center of mass. This change removes the player's strength assumption from the equation.
- NFHS (National Federation of State High School Associations) has followed the NCAA in the past for bat certification. I have not seen an announcement saying they will change to BBCOR certification, but I think it is a pretty good bet they will. [Update 7/13/09: The NFHS Baseball Rules Committee meeting made two bat specification adjustments during the annual meeting. The two changes are to use the BBCOR certification, like NCAA, and that bats must be labeled with a rectangular certification mark. These rule changes are effective January 1, 2012 (the 2012 high school season).] Question of the Day:
Does Little League's bat performance factor (BPF) = 1.15 mean that metal or composite bats can have a higher batted-ball speed (i.e., "hotter") than wood bats?
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