High school baseball players who recently bought pricey, high-performance bats might want to consider getting refunds, as tougher safety regulations approved by the California Interscholastic Federation could make the bats obsolete next season.
Starting Jan. 1, 2011, CIF will require all aluminum and composite baseball bats used in high schools to conform to new Batted Ball Coefficient of Restitution (BBCOR) standards, intended to curb the “trampoline” effect of the bats and cut down on dangerous batted balls.
“We’re doing this not only for the integrity of the game, but if there’s a safety issue, we’re saying let’s err on the side of caution and mandate that our composite bats and aluminum bats meet the new BBCOR standards,” said CIF Executive Director Marie Ishida. “If the ball is coming off of these [high performance] bats at even one-percent faster than off of wooden bats, then that’s one-percent less chance for a kid to react to a batted ball.”
The BBCOR standard was set to take effect in high schools nationwide in 2012, but California is getting a jump on the rest of the country, following a highly publicized March incident involving a 16-year-old Marin Catholic High School pitcher. The pitcher, Gunnar Sandberg, was hit in the head by a line drive off a metal bat, sending him into a temporary coma. Sandberg’s injury led to a bill sponsored by Assemblyman Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael), seeking to ban both aluminum and composite bats in state high schools for two years, until new safety measures were adopted.
Ishida said if Huffman’s legislation had passed, CIF would’ve been forced to switch to wooden bats, putting an additional financial burden on schools. In response to the proposal, following the National Federation of State High School Associations’ lead, the CIF proposed to Huffman the adoption of BBCOR standards for 2011. Huffman later withdrew his proposed moratorium.
The decision will put the CIF on par with the NCAA, which is implementing BBCOR standards next year. According to CIF officials, the regulations are designed to make aluminum and composite bats perform more like their wooden counterparts, and could decrease performance by 10 to 15 percent, improving safety.
Pioneer Valley head coach Mike Glenn said he thinks CIF should return to wooden bats to prepare players for higher levels of competition and lessen the chances of serious injury.
Compared to wood bats, aluminum and composite bats achieve more “pop” after they’re broken in, he said, and are ultimately “bad for hitters.”
“It’s extremely, extremely dangerous,” Glenn said. “I’ve seen guys pick up between 50 and 60 feet with these new composite bats.
“It teaches them that they can mis-hit balls and get base hits,” he added. “Then they get a wood bat in their hands, and their average goes from .550 to about .150, and they can’t quite figure it out.”
While Glenn hasn’t handled a BBCOR bat yet, he said if the standards make the bats react more like wood bats, players can expect less hits, lower scores, and more ground balls.
“You’re definitely going to see some kids still be able to hit a ball pretty hard,” Glenn said. “It’s going to be more of a pitcher’s game. There’s going to be a lot more bunting going on, a lot more hit and run.”
Santa Maria High School head coach Terry Newby, another proponent of wooden bats, doesn’t think the new standards will have much effect on game play.
“Baseballs are still going to be hit the same way, it’s just not going to come off as quick as it has in the past, which could be a good thing for pitchers,” Newby said. “As far as I’m concerned, I don’t think it’s going to make any difference for us. You’ve still got to throw the ball, you’ve still got to swing the bat, and you’ve got to hit it.”
As to whether the BBCOR bats will actually help make his players safer, Newby was noncommittal.
“It’s good they’re trying to take the trampoline effect out of the bat,” Newby said. “But I think it’s just a way to keep the CIF from saying we’re going to wooden bats, ’cause that’s the way it should go.”
Most high schools, including Santa Maria and Pioneer Valley, no longer buy bats for their teams due to concerns over cost. High-quality aluminum bats from makers like DeMarini can start at $400. By comparison, wooden bats are available for less than $50.
Pioneer Valley’s Glenn thinks bat manufacturers, who stand to make a great deal of money with the change, should offer credit to those who recently bought bats and discovered they’re no longer legal.
“I just feel bad for the kid who just went out and purchased a $500 bat and now he’s got to change,” Glenn said. “You start to wonder how much pressure [the bat manufacturers] have over these people. I think it would be a lot easier to just go back to wood bats. I know there’s plenty out there on the market right now. They’re there.”
CIF’s Ishida, who said compliant bats would likely be available by November or December, shared the coach’s concerns over the cost to players.
“Some players may be disappointed because these new bats aren’t going to perform like the older ones that they’ve had,” Ishida said. “I’m more concerned, though, about parents and individuals in schools who have already purchased these bats that now are not legal.”
In addition to the new safety standards, CIF is requiring the bats to be affixed with a stamp or decal by 2012 to ensure they haven’t been altered, stretched, or otherwise tampered with. The decals aren’t available yet, but CIF is working with bat manufacturers to educate them on what’s acceptable.
Whether manufacturers will have enough bats to satisfy demand is anyone’s guess, but if compliant bats aren’t commercially available by January, Ishida said, CIF would still allow currently legal bats for the upcoming season. According to Ishida, CIF will also encourage schools to voluntarily require protective headgear for pitchers and infielders for the 2011 season and is proposing a committee consider making the headgear mandatory for softball and baseball defensive players by 2012.
Santa Maria’s Newby, who said he’s yet to see a major head injury as a result of a batted ball, called the proposal “ridiculous.”
“I hope it never comes to that,” he said. “If kids can’t catch a fly ball, pop fly, or a ball hit at them that far away, then they shouldn’t be playing baseball.”
Pioneer Valley’s Glenn agreed, saying the proposed headgear would detract from the game.
“I think that’s just an overreaction,” he said. “I certainly don’t like it, and I hope they don’t make something like that mandatory.”
Staff Writer Jeremy Thomas has a cork core. Contact him at jthomas@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Sep 2-9, 2010.
