BBCOR Bats for High School

Not until 2012...no composite bats in 2011.

This is going to be an interesting transition, no doubt. BBCOR is not mandatory until January 1, 2012. And, not all composites are banned.

Here's a list of approved BESR - ABI composite bats for the 2011 NFHS spring season, as of 12/2010.

Approved Composite Bats

GED10DaD

How many are buying them now? We discussed it, instead of buying bats good for one year (seems all we had were composites), but after reading reports from NCAA players/coaches and hearing from players I have in college, I wonder are you at a disadvantage if you do use BBCOR bats this year (2011.)? Most say BBCOR bats are as lively as best wood bat available, which means you have to square it up good and your opponent may not.

Coach Schlossnagle at TCU said in Baseball America that based on what he's seen in the fall, "TCU will not play the same game it has in the spring."

quote:

Originally posted by Coach Wilk:
How many are buying them now? We discussed it, instead of buying bats good for one year (seems all we had were composites), but after reading reports from NCAA players/coaches and hearing from players I have in college, I wonder are you at a disadvantage if you do use BBCOR bats this year (2011.)? Most say BBCOR bats are as lively as best wood bat available, which means you have to square it up good and your opponent may not.

Coach Schlossnagle at TCU said in Baseball America that based on what he's seen in the fall, "TCU will not play the same game it has in the spring."

I think it's a little exaggerated. Once you break the bats in, THEY ARE BETTER THAN WOOD. It takes quite a few swings though.

That said, you'd be putting yourself at a competitive disadvantage going to the BBCORE early. Wouldn't recommend it if you can help it.

Posted November 23, 2010 10:46 PM Hide Post
http://digital.olivesoftware.c...geno=1&view=document

This link will answer all questions on the new bat rules, which leagues are effected, BBCOR bats and college coaches reaction to the changes.

IMO, I would use the BESR bats this year. The current BBCOR bat's will surely be improved upon before they are mandatory in 2012. Plus I'm sure more bat manufacturer's will have several models to choose from.

Big red,

These bats will not "break in" that is the point of the BBCOR. I have heard with out a doubt that wood preforms better. This is about to change the college game like you would not believe.

There's nothing stopping you from using wood is there?

quote:

Originally posted by Newscout:
Big red,

These bats will not "break in" that is the point of the BBCOR. I have heard with out a doubt that wood preforms better. This is about to change the college game like you would not believe.

I've been watching the bats all fall. We were told that they would break in with use, and from what I've seen that's true. Either the bats are "breaking in," or hitters are getting used to how top heavy they are.

Either way, it will change the game. It has already changed how pitchers are approaching at-bats, and you'd better believe coaches are going to coach differently.

quote:

Originally posted by Tx-Husker:
There's nothing stopping you from using wood is there?

Husker, Beginning January 1, 2012, all bats not made of a single piece of wood shall meet the Batted Ball Coefficient of Restitution (BBCOR) performance standard. All wood bats should be legal for HS use as long as they are free of rattles, dents, burrs, cracks and sharp edges. Bats that are broken, altered from their original design or that deface or discolor the ball are illegal. Materials inside the bat or treatments/devices used to alter the bat specifications and/or enhance performance are prohibited and render the bat illegal. There are also regs on the knob for high school use which require it to protrude from the handle and not be tapered off or flush like Ozzy Guillen used to use in the majors. What you can and cannot do to a bat above the 18" threshold on the handle is standard stuff similar to MLB. There is some debate going on about whether the bat must be one piece of wood or if composite wood such as bamboo will remain legal. For the most part, wood is the baseline and should be legal in HS unless you alter them in some way.

quote:

Originally posted by GunEmDown10:
This is going to be an interesting transition, no doubt. BBCOR is not mandatory until January 1, 2012. And, not all composites are banned.

Here's a list of approved BESR - ABI composite bats for the 2011 NFHS spring season, as of 12/2010.

Approved Composite Bats

GED10DaD

Good job Gunemdown10!!!

Recently had a good talk with a D1 coach about the new BBCOR bats. His team was sent two prototypes from Louisville Slugger to use for the fall....a 33" and a 34". Said that's all they used this fall. After these two bats had been used by all of their players in four intrasquad games, repeated live bp and bp off of machines they don't have a dent or flat spot on them. Only hit four homeruns in those four intrasquad games. Said they tested the velocity off of the old BESR bats at the beginning of fall, tested wood bats during the middle of fall and the new prototypes at the end and the prototypes were comparable to the wood in their tests.

quote:

Originally posted by Dallas Knights GM:
Recently had a good talk with a D1 coach about the new BBCOR bats. His team was sent two prototypes from Louisville Slugger to use for the fall....a 33" and a 34". Said that's all they used this fall. After these two bats had been used by all of their players in four intrasquad games, repeated live bp and bp off of machines they don't have a dent or flat spot on them. Only hit four homeruns in those four intrasquad games. Said they tested the velocity off of the old BESR bats at the beginning of fall, tested wood bats during the middle of fall and the new prototypes at the end and the prototypes were comparable to the wood in their tests.

People ask, "Why not just go all wood?" The answer, "Sounds like they just did with the BBCOR bats...only they don't break!"

quote:

Originally posted by HRKB:
People ask, "Why not just go all wood?" The answer, "Sounds like they just did with the BBCOR bats...only they don't break!"

Yep...that is what the initial results/reports seem to indicate.

I say this without having actually picked one up, so take it FWIW... even if the new bats are a lot like wood as far as exit speeds/velocity when striking a ball, I would be shocked if they still do not utilize a larger barrel (and subsequent "sweet spot") on the bat compared to a wood counterpart. From everything I've researched and read (and I may have indeed missed something), they are not changing the diameter of the barrels, nor the width of the barrel at its maximum diameter. Therefore, I really think while they will perform a lot more like wood, you will still have a larger sweet spot.

And for those of us who date ourselves by remembering the "good old days of the '80s", those aluminum bats were no better than the high-end wood bats today. I remember playing in adult leagues in Dallas just several years ago and hitting with wood... my goodness, the ball jumped off those bats compared to the aluminum ones I used in HS and college. Certainly the aluminum bats today are that much better, and I always wondered how I'd have done using what the kids use today. But I still maintain that most of us got along just fine with those lousy aluminum bats, and the kids will now as well. I'm betting BBCOR bats are better than those.

Certainly it will change the game some... for the better, IMHO.

But my 16U team will not be using BBCOR bats in summer play in '11. They'll adjust just fine with those bats starting in the fall '11, but there is no reason to be at a competitive disadvantage now.

And the short story is this change is a good change! It's about time.

I am all for this change... it will make the HS game more competitive and bring strategy back in to the game.

I am also looking forward to only having to dodge a 100 MPH line drive at me vs a 130MPH one... that extra millisecond might just save me from getting hit!