All You Need to Know About the New USA Bat Standards

Learn How, When, and Why the USA Baseball Bat Standard changes on January 1st, 2018 will affect you.

USA Baseballs new Bat rules will and have confused a lot of people. Not just Parents and Players, but organizations, retailers and manufacturers as well. If you are a Little League, Pony League, Dixie League, Babe Ruth or AABC player these changes could and most likely will impact you. Everysportforless.com breaks it down and believe us, it was not an easy one, but we've got a handle on it thanks to some in depth research and with help from manufacturers and players alike.

The What:

USABat will mandate a new youth Bat Standard for all age levels. The Maximum Barrel diameter is 2 5/8” for all players 14 and under. This is similar to what USA Baseball did with College Bats (See Why below for the reasons). Quite simply, players will no longer be allowed to play with bats that do not meet these specifications.

The When:

Rule changes go into effect on January 1st, 2018. The new bats with official stamping have begun to be introduced at retail as of September 1st, 2017.

The Who:

To date Little League, Pony Baseball, Dixie, Babe Ruth and AABC will all be under one umbrella for USA Baseball known as USABat. USSSA (Travel Ball) will not be following suite and will continue to use the 1.15bpf standard. For conspiracy theorists Manufacturers and Retails have no role in the decision to change bat standards. USA Baseball independently determines rule changes based on its own research.

The Why:

There are several goals in mind for the USABat Standard including player safety, game speed, and overall excitement. Contact will be more “wood like” as the new standard is estimated to reduce ball exit speed by 10%, producing more hits but potentially less home runs. This is similar in fashion to the successful changes made in College Baseball (.530 BBCOR for youth is equivalent to .500 BBCOR for Adult (High School / College Ball Players). USA Baseball developed a testing protocol for youth bats, which resulted in the new youth standard that aligns closely with the NCAA BBCOR performance standard.

How Can You Tell Bats Meet the New USABat Standard or don't?

Across the entire Baseball industry one of the following stamps will be on all new Bats so that you can find the bat that works for you in your league. Remember 2 5/8" is the MAX DIAMETER not the only diameter. Bats will be color coded and stamped in the following way for easy clarification:

In an effort to help you more directly find the bat you need Everysportforless.com reorganized our Everysportforless Baseball Bat Section with a new Category Called “Certified USABats” , since these bats have just begun to be released the selection will grow significantly over the next few weeks from the date that this blog is published.You can also tell which of our bats meet the USABat standards by seeing the logo displayed on each individual product page. For example, our Axe Youth Baseball Bat has the USA Baseball stamp on its page.

Will this Rule Make all Bats the Same?

No way. Association Standards are just one element of your bat, factors that contribute to the performance of a baseball bat including bat length and weight, balance, barrel length and diameter, as well as the overall construction and feel. So of course no two brands are alike. Easton will swing like Easton, Demarini will feel like Demarini and an Axe Bat will handle like an Axe Bat.

The Final Verdict

While some leagues may elect to “Go Rogue” and USSSA currently has no plans to switch, Manufacturers will no longer be producing the old bats and retailers will not be carrying them once stock is gone, so at some point in the near future the well will run dry on 1.15bpf bats. Out of necessity Major Brands like Rawlings, Louisville and the names mentioned above with be shifting their creative energies to the USABat Standard. At the end of the day, while some parents may recoil at the idea of purchasing a brand new bat the initiative will be fully enforced in an effort to get more players involved on the diamond by leveling the frequency of 3 Run Shots and Strikeouts with that of Bunts, Steals, and nicely turned Double Plays, while keeping infielders and pitchers safe and hopefully leading to increased participation as the number of sports activity alternatives during the Baseball Season continues to grow.