Bat rules explained
"BBCOR", "BESR", "MOI", "Drop" - what in the world do these mean and what do they have to do with a baseball bat? Well, as it turns out, quite a lot. Years ago, bat manufacturers, in the interest of providing a competitive advantage (and to sell more bats), developed models with materials other than wood, such as aluminum and other metal alloys. As the years went by the science of these materials and the designs of the bats became much more sophisticated, all in the name of providing hitters with an advantage at the plate, and it worked: batting averages and offensive numbers increased noticeably at all levels where non-wood bats were permitted.
Things reached a peak when bat makers began offering exotic composite materials in the barrels and/or handles of the bats, creating even higher performance numbers and competitive advantages. These bats were also extremely expensive and subject to cracking and even shattering, plus, as it turns out, they posed a safety hazard to defensive players because of the increased speed of the ball coming off the bat.
The exaggerated offensive performance figures, combined with the safety concerns and illegal practices such as "bat rolling", prompted officials of the game, from the college level and down, to begin considering restrictions to the use of non-wood bats. (Some purists would like only wood bats to be used like they are in Major League Baseball, but that wasn't about to happen.) The goal was to come up with standards for non-wood bats that made them perform like wood bats, even if it meant reducing offensive performance numbers, and at the same time reduce safety concerns.
The process has taken some years and gone through various phases of implementation, but it seems 2012 is when it is all coming together. The standards have been implemented by the NCAA, the National Federation of High Schools (NFHS), Little League International, and other youth baseball organizations.
For those who want to know the technical details of how and why these standards were developed, keep reading after the next section. For those who just want to know what can and can't be used, let's cut to the chase -
The following are the 2012 guidelines for bats to be used at Lakeland City Baseball games:
For Major League and below -
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For Junior League -
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(Note: Lakeland City Baseball is not a league charted by Little League International, but we do follow their guidelines for bat use for Major League and below and Junior League.)
The Geeky Stuff
As explained above, non-wood bats became way too "hot", meaning they were performing at levels much higher than wood bats, and to the point where it could be said that it was more the piece of equipment that was generating the high batting numbers and less the human being swinging the bat. Plus, people were getting hurt.
BBS
So what does a non-wood bat do differently than a wood bat? Well,
the main reason non-wood (metal) bats were developed was to make the
ball go further faster. How do you measure that? Using a measurement
called "batted-ball speed", or BBS. When compared with a wood bat,
bats using different materials in the barrel could generate a higher
BBS, making them VERY attractive to hitters looking for an
advantage.
BESR
When it became evident that metal bats were going to become the norm
at the college and high school levels, and they were outperforming
wood bats by a wide margin, the NCAA decided to come up with a bat
performance standard so they could begin controlling their use,
because without some sort of limit bat manufacturers were going to
keep developing higher performing bats and further distort the game.
The new standard of that day was called the "Ball Exit Speed Ratio",
or BESR. It is a formula that produces a ratio of the speed at which
the ball exits the bat/ball collision divided by the combined speeds
of the bat and ball before the collision.
MOI
By knowing the BESR of a bat, comparisons could be made between the
various types of bats, therefore limits could be placed. The limits
were achieved by regulating something called the
"Moment-of-Inertia", or MOI. The MOI directly affects the bat swing
speed, meaning that a bat with a larger MOI would be more difficult
to swing. Lower bat speed due to a larger MOI means a lower BBS,
which means a lower BESR. A smaller MOI would result in the
opposite. The MOI is regulated by adjusting where the weight is in
the bat: The bulk of the weight near the handle makes bats swing
faster, whereas more weight in the barrel makes them slower.
Bouncing and rolling
There was an initial effect on bat peformance when the BESR was
regulated, but manufacturers quickly found ways around it,
particulary with the advent of composites. These high-tech resin and
adhesive materials produced a bouncy, or "trampoline" effect when
coming into contact with the pitched ball, adding yet another
performance factor to non-wood bats. In addition, people discovered
that by running a composite bat through nylon or hard-rubber rollers
they could break down the resin and adhesive and "age" the bat, and
an aged composite bat becomes more flexible, or springier, enhancing
the trampoline effect and creating a higher ball speed off the bat.
In effect, rolling a bat was cheating, or at least it should have
been. It created situations where the "aged" bat would crack and
even shatter into pieces, putting defensive players at risk and
costing the players and/or parents a LOT of money to replace the
bat. Then there was a cat-and-mouse game being played between the
bat owners and manufacturers about what was and wasn't covered by
the warranty, something very important when people were dropping
hundreds on a bat.
Welcome BBCOR
So, to get a handle on these new composite-barrel bats, a new test
protocol was developed called "Bat-Ball Coefficient of Restitution",
or BBCOR, which, when combined with the BESR and MOI standards, are
the measures bats with composite barrels must achieve to be used in
LCB games as of 2012. What is interesting about the BBCOR standards
is that they are designed to compare performance versus wood bats,
and with limits intended to make composite-barrel bats perform like
wood bats.
Simply put, the BBCOR standard sets the maximum trampoline effect a bat can have. Think of a tennis ball being hit off a tennis racket versus bouncing it on the floor. The tennis ball will travel much further off a racket than off the floor. The racket strings deflect, or bend, then jump back and propel the ball. The floor won't bend, thus the tennis ball won't travel as far. That is the same effect of a baseball struck off a hollow bat versus a wood bat. The hollow bat surface of a composite barrel will deflect a lot when coming into contact with the baseball, then spring back, providing more energy and a higher speed off the bat to the ball, whereas a metal bat will deflect only somewhat and a wood bat hardly at all, almost eliminating the trampoline effect. If you limit the trampoline effect you limit the speed of the ball off the bat.
Get the drop
It so happens that the BBCOR standard limits the "drop" of the bat.
("Bat drop" is the difference between a bat's length and its weight.
A 30" length bat weighing 25 ounces will have a -5 bat drop.) All
BBCOR-labeled bats will automatically have a drop of -3 or less.
Wither wood?
The goal with the BBCOR standard was to produce a speed off the bat
and other performance measures as close as possible to those of the
best wood bats. That goal was achieved when a bat measured a
coefficient of 0.500 using the BBCOR formula, hence the term "BBCOR
.50", which is what you'll see on the new bat labels.
The bottom line
What is the effect of the new standard? It is agreed that at the
NCAA and high school levels there is a measureable 5-6% decrease in
bat performance, and a noticeable difference in the sound of the
ball striking the bat. It is more of a thud and less of a ping.
Batters at those levels lament the loss of the advantage 'hot' bats
had given them, but the result is that batted balls will not travel
as fast, or as far; there are fewer home runs; defensive players
aresafer and we'll all get back to emphasizing the fundamentals with
a more balanced game. It's almost like everyone's gone to a wood-bat
league...
Going, going... gone!
'Juiced' composite bats are history. Advantage: pitchers and good
defense. Small ball is back!
IF YOUR LCB JUNIOR LEAGUE PLAYER INTENDS TO USE A BAT WITH A COMPOSITE BARREL IN THE 2012 SEASON, IT MUST BE PERMANENTLY LABELED LIKE THIS:
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HOWEVER, unlike high school, LCB Junior League players can use a non-BBCOR bat, but they cannot have a composite barrel. Bats with aluminum or alloy barrels are permitted whether they have the BBCOR label or not, and of course, wood bats are permitted as well. All bats in LCB Junior League must not exceed a 2-5/8" barrel diameter.