Menu
**COMING SPRING 2018** New Bat Regulations
2018 Batting Rules Changes
Updated Monday June 5, 2017 by JL Parker.
Attention: New Batting regulations will be in place starting with the 2018 Babe Ruth / Cal Ripken Baseball Season.
Please Read BEFORE making any near-term bat purchase decisions!
https://www.baberuthleague.org/batter-up/articles/usabat-standard.aspx
The following is copied over from the Babe Ruth International Web Page. For the latest news and infomrration, be sure to refer to the above link.
Implementation of USABat Standard Begins on January 1, 2018
The new USA Baseball bat standard (USABat), which will apply to bats that are classified below the NCAA and NFHS level of play, will be implemented on January 1, 2018, allowing the bat manufacturers sufficient time to bring these bats to the marketplace.
Similar to the NCAA and NFHS BBCOR standard, which helped to eliminate discrepancies with different length bats and thus provide a more direct measure of bat performance, the new USA Baseball bat standard will allow youth baseball organizations in the United States to reach their goal of establishing a wood-like standard, a standard that will provide for the long-term integrity of the game.
Frequently Asked Questions about the USABat standard:
To date, the following organizations are participating (in alphabetical order): American Amateur Baseball Congress (AABC), Amateur Athletic Union (AAU),Babe Ruth Baseball/Cal Ripken Baseball,Dixie Youth Baseball, Little League Baseball and PONY Baseball.
USA Baseball’s national member organizations believe that a wood-like performance standard will best provide for the long-term integrity of the game. The new standard will not have a drop-weight limit, so young players can use bats made with light-weight materials.
Wood is a scarce resource. The new bats will be designed to perform much like wood, where its performance will be limited to the highest performing wood.
Both the USA Baseball and NCAA bat performance tests are based on the coefficient of restitution from a bat-ball impact. The scale of results is different, however, since they use different test balls and test speeds. The testing difference is necessary to address the various levels of play in the respective age groups.
The national member organizations asked USA Baseball as the national governing body to take the lead in this process to establish a new standard. Many other national governing bodies set and enforce standards for the equipment in their respective sports. To that end, USA Baseball established a Bat Study Committee of leading scientists and conducted theoretical modeling, field testing and lab testing. The committee shared its findings with the national member organizations, who then endorsed the new USABat standard.
Alan Nathan, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of Physics at the University of Illinois
Dan Russell, Ph.D. Professor of Acoustics at Penn State University
Glenn Fleisig, Ph.D. Research Director of American Sports Medicine Institute
The implementation date of 2018 will allow bat manufacturers sufficient time to conduct the appropriate research, design, testing, manufacturing and shipping needed to get new bats into retail outlets. This date also allows the participating national member organizations adequate time to educate their memberships of the USABat standard.
Yes. Current league-approved bats can be used through December 31, 2017.
No. Youth baseball continues to be one of the safest of all sports for youth participants.
All new bats that bear the USABat licensing mark will be permissible for play in the leagues and tournaments of the participating youth baseball organizations.
It is the intention of the bat manufacturers to make the new bats available in the fall of 2017, in sufficient time for the 2018 season.