CIF approves new bat changes for 2011

quote:

http://www.cifstate.org/sports/other/baseball.html

Latest update on 11/16 with the BBCOR approved bat list. They state that the information regarding bat availability is still accurate. At least they moved the BESR/ABI waiver approved link so that it should no longer be confusing, though if bat availability is not a problem, then the link should be removed completely. I've never bought a bat at list price, so I think I'm holding off on buying until more reviews come in. Yes, bat selection is less than BESR, but it doesn't seem like there is a shortage of supply at this point as all of the online retailers indicate items in stock (except for the Eastons which are due out on Nov 22 **update: looks like they pushed availability back to mid Dec at some sites and mid Jan at others**).

My take is that CIF will screw this up. I think they already have here in California. BBCOR is available today. No question. The question is can supply meet the demand in California now! I do not think so. I think CIF Cal. should push this out until next year, and wait until the supply is built up.

A bat to a player is a bid deal! Our kids should not be forced and scramble to spend $300 on a bat they are not comfortable with. It's a feeling.

Lefty.

Easton Rep says final decision in 2 weeks but feels strongly that BBCOR is here for this season with a few bats that might be exempt.

Now the question is which BBCOR bat to buy? I guess we might as well wait until CIF posts something final on their site.

Cutter Dad: I had the same questions as you and here are my conclusions after reading the various websites. Because the Tamper Stickers for BBCOR Comp bats are NOT ready for 2011 - if you buy one of these it will only be okay to use for one season. Possibly to make up for this, certain Comp bats that were submitted for the ABI testing and passed will be allowed for just the 2011 season. After 2011, only BBCOR Comp bats will be allowed (they will all have the Tamper Sticker then).

Regarding Aluminum bats, seems like ONLY BBCOR bats will be allowed since they do not use the Tamper Stickers.

Seems to me they should have left BESR bats okay to use for 2011 except for those Comp bats that exceeded their BESR ratings. I believe that is what all the other states did. As most know, CA adopted a different policy due to political pressure.

bbdad2007 - if you are correct won't the kids (who can afford it) get one of the comp bats that passed the abi testing? Those bats I would assume are going to better than the BBCOR bats. Thoughts?

warningtrack- I would think so. We have a Combat B2 that is on the list and would love to be able to have my son use it over buying/using a BBCOR bat. Son prefers his EXO but the Combat ain't bad.

It almost seems like CIF is being intentionally vague so as not to over commit to anything at this point. It shouldn't be that difficult, but I guess they are feeling out the political and economic ramifications. If this interpretation is correct, I would guess a lot of people will be buying CF4s and B2s for 2011, as I keep hearing how dead the BBCOR bats are so far. I wouldn't go out and buy one until I hear something more definitive though. Interesting that these bats passed the ABI. Bbdad, did your son think the B2 experienced a break-in period, or has it been pretty consistent out of the wrapper?

Cutter Dad - great question on the B2. I bought it a year ago thinking it would have a lot of pop after the "typical" break in period... Son used it for a lot of BP - 100s of baseballs hit and it never really got hotter. He never used it in games - just scrimmages. Hasn't used it since June but the last time he did use it he came home and told me he thought the bat had more pop than before. So maybe it does improve but there is a huge break in period. I explained to him last night what I thought was happening with the bats and he said " see, I told you that Combat wasn't breaking in!" But he would love to use it over a new BBCOR. BTW, the combat doesn't sound like those "hot" Comp that make a funny noise - sounds sorta like a Maple wood bat but with a slightly higher pitch.

Thanks for the insight - probably a combination of son AND bat having more pop. Mine used the blue Easton Stealth comp as a frosh and soph and loves that funny noise now . He is hating having to give up the Stealth, but he pitches too, so he is cool with BBCOR from that side. I just wish CIF would be clearer about the rules, so we could figure out what to get for this year.

For a composite bat to pass the ABI test. 1st it's tested and then rolled and tested again to see if it stays within the specs.

In other words for a 2010 composite bat to pass ABI it had to realy suck last year in comparison to the hot composite bats.

quote:

In other words for a 2010 composite bat to pass ABI it had to realy suck last year in comparison to the hot composite bats.

That is cetainly one way to look at it! To be fair to the Combat, it is pretty good in some other categories. It has a large barrel - the "okay" sweet spot is probably larger than most other bats. The bat is pretty well balanced. Durability seems very good so far.

http://www.nfhs.org/content.aspx?id=4155

Out of all the bats on this list for approved composites the only bat I have ever seen being used in 13-14 travel ball or high school games is the CF 4. To be fair to combat they do make a good youth bat but it has durability issues. The issues you brought up about breaking in is the same thing I heard about the senior league combats. My younger son used the black stealth speed 2 and loved it, now for his last year in Jr's he have to find something else to use.

Has anyone heard if Louisville is going to come out next year with a Exo that has a BBCOR rating?

My son used an Easton BBCOR this past weekend in the cage. He said it felt really good when you hit it on the sweet spot, not so good otherwise. The ball appeared to jump off the bat really well when hit good, of course in the cage it's hard to tell how far it would travel. The college we were at hit only two home runs all fall. I did hear another college hit 20 in the fall with the same Easton bat. This will get interesting, supposedly Easton is tweaking some things now and will have another version out soon for the colleges. I thought the sound was fine.

Heard from Louisville that they will come out with a BBCOR EXO March-April 2011.

Xmas shopping and found the Omaha BBCOR! I picked up the 34" and it seemed heavy compared to the BESR. Will need to get my son out to make sure we get the correct length as they do seem to be top heavy. Interesting!

They have a number of manufacturers in the baseball express catalog that showed up in the last week.

Talking to the Louisville rep all they did to the bat was thicken the wall of the bat to reduce the trampoline effect...prob why it feels top heavy now.

I agree 100% Redbb15! I have heard the same.

Has anyone in California taken the plunge and purchased a BBCOR bat yet? If so, what brand did you choose? Did your son try other brands before that decision was made? My son's HS team is going to purchase 2-3 bats, and I'll probably be picking one up in the near future. Trust me, I know it depends on what my kid is comfortable with...but I wanted to see what the opinions are before I fork out $200-$300 on another bat.