***Updated 12/2017 to reflect most recent info from Top Gun and PerfectGame***
As most of you already know, beginning January 1st, 2018 several national organizations, in conjunction with USA Baseball, will roll out their new bat standard. This new standard has led to much confusion and consternation amongst coaches and parents regarding which bats will be eligible for play in which organization beginning in the Spring 2018 season. Here we’ll review the old and new bat standard and discuss how these standards will affect travel baseball in the state of North Carolina
USSSA BPF 1.15
BPF stands for bat performance factor. This is simply a measure of how much faster a ball rebounds off a specific bat as compared to a reference solid surface (e.g. if a bat demonstrates a 20% faster ball rebound speed than the reference solid surface, that bat is said to have a BPF of 1.20). This is measured by shooting a ball from a cannon at 60 mph a bat which is clamped in a pivot so that it may rotate after it is struck by the ball. The collision efficiency can then simply be measured as the ratio of the speed of the ball after and before the collision with the bat. The BPF standard ignores bat swing speed and is calculated as the ratio of the batted-ball coefficient of restitution (BBCOR) divided by the coefficient of restitution (COR) of the ball itself (i.e. the COR from a solid reference standard). First rolled out in 2012, this has become the standard by which most organizations have adhered to.
USABat
In 2015, USA baseball and several member organizations announced a new youth bat performance testing program with a planned implementation for January, 2018. The stated goal of this new standard was to establish a “wood-like standard” that would preserve the “long-term integrity of the game.” Drop-weight limits were eliminated and the barrel sizes up to 2-5/8” were permitted. A new tee ball standard was also developed that will not be discussed here.
What’s the difference?
USA Baseball has said they would like to establish a “wood-like standard” with their new bat standard. They specifically note that safety is not the reason for the change, but rather to “provide for the long-term integrity of the game.” This is obviously exceedingly ambiguous and leaves much to interpretation. Although I have not seen or read a direct comparison of ball exit velocities between 1.15 BPF standard bats vs. USABat standard bats, several indirect comparisons (see below) have been done suggesting decreased performance with the USABat as compared to the 1.15 BPF standard bats. This is perhaps not surprising as the stated goal was to produce bats with “wood-like” performance.
Who is affected?
To start, the new bat standard only affects those players aged 14 and under. At this time, Little League Baseball, American Amateur Baseball Congress (AABC), Babe Ruth Baseball/Cal Ripken Baseball, Dixie Youth Baseball, and PONY Baseball will be implementing the new USABat standard effective January 1, 2018. Closer to home, the NC Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) has stated they will NOT be implementing the new standard and will continue to use the USSSA 1.15 BPF standard. At their December organizational meeting, Top Gun decided to also NOT implement the USABat standard, and instead will continue to use the USSSA 1.15 BPF standard.
USSSA will continue to use their 1.15 BPF standard.
PerfectGame will adopt the USABat standard. Although it should be noted the USABat standard will only be used in their national tournaments. For the North Carolina and Virginia PerfectGame events (including PGBA and Super 25 qualifier events), teams will be allowed to use bats that adhere to the USSSA 1.15 BPF standard.
As far as we can tell, both Nations baseball and Triple Crown Sports will be keeping the 1.15 BPF standard, but they do not have a particularly large presence in North Carolina.
So where does that leave us for 2018
Little League Baseball, AABC, Babe Ruth Baseball/Cal Ripken Baseball, Dixie Youth Baseball, PerfectGame, and PONY Baseball will be implementing the new USABat standard effective January 1, 2018. It seems that the both AAU and USSSA will continue with the 1.15 BPF standard, and as such if you play in those tournaments you will be able to continue to use your old bats. Top Gun has also decided to stick with the 1.15 BPF standard. PerfectGame has taken the approach of utilizing two different bat standards for local/regional competition (1.15 BPF) compared to their national events such as the Super 25 National Championship (USABat).