College and High School baseball bat certification changed

Injuries have forced new bats standards in all leagues

by Matt Ellinghuysen

In the past decade the game we call our national pastime has become dangerous and deadly in the high school and college ranks.  The one reason: aluminum baseball bats.  There have been many cases of both youth and college-age athletes being killed by line drives coming so fast, they didn’t even have a chance to get out of the way.  A prime example is Brandon Patch, who was killed by line-drive off his temple, and after a long court battle the bat manufacture was liable for his death.  His mother in a statement said, “this for Brandon and the kids on the field,” as well as, “we should go back to the way baseball was supposed to be played [with wood bats].” 

Because of accidents like this, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and state high-school leagues all across America have set different standards on bats, or completely got rid of the old metal bats.  This new rule includes the Bemidji State baseball team.



Colton Smith using the Rip-It BBCOR model
photo by bsubeavers.com



The old metal bats were BESR certified, which stood for Ball Exit Speed Ratio.  This certification tested the speed of the ball when it left the bat.  However, these tests were preformed on new aluminum baseball bats, not those that had been used for a season or more.  The exit speed of the ball off the bat becomes greater as it gets more use, therefore creating a trampoline effect when the ball leaves the bat.  The ultimate effect is to make the bat highly hazardous to those fielding the baseball. Something had to change, because too many baseball players were getting injured off of batted balls they had no chance to field.



This is why the NCAA and high schools have either reverted to wooden bats or, as most have done, switched to the newly certified Batted-Ball Coefficient of Restitution (BBCOR) bats.  BBCOR measures the force in which the bat has on the ball at the point of contact to the millisecond.  Essentially the bats where designed to perform throughout a baseball season the same way in which maple or ash wood bats would perform. Some players are skeptical of the new bats and the way the baseball doesn’t travel as much.  One of these players is Colton Smith, a senior outfielder for the Bemidji State Beavers and he believes, “I would have more hits using the BESR certified [bats], rather than the new BBCOR bats.” 

 

Nick Jelacie swinging the new Rawlings BBCOR certified bat
photo by bsubeavers.com



On the other hand others players, like Nick Jelacie, also a senior outfielder at BSU, says, “I like the idea of what they [NCAA] is trying to do making the game safer.  Ultimately I wish they would stop research and development of aluminum bats and change high school and college baseball to all wood or wood-composite bats.”

Research continues into trying to make the game of baseball safer, but one may wonder how long will it be till players are strictly using all wood bats again?

References

BBCOR Certified Bats vs BESR: What does it all mean? (2011, April 11). Retrieved April 20, 2011, from More Baseball: Baseball Equipment News-Glove, Bat, and more baseaball gear reviews: http://www.morebaseball.com/blog/bbcor-certified-bats-vs-besr/

Brandt, A. (2009, October 28). Bat maker found liable for player's death. Retrieved April 14, 2011, from helenair.com: http://helenair.com/news/article_17304d04-c44f-11de-b8fa-001cc4c03286.html

Spurlock, C. (2011, March 3). How the new BBCOR regulations will affect baseball as we know it. Retrieved April 8, 2011, from Beyond the Boxscore: http://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2011/3/3/2026434/how-the-new-bbcor-regulations-will-affect-baseball-as-we-know-it