Fed Rule Review

[Umpire in Chief]

I just had my 2010 Fed rule review through the VHSL last night.

Other than being an hour I'll never recover in my life I did pick up on one tid-bit I didn't know.

There has been a lot of discussion about bats

The Vendetta with a shaped portion.

The Reebok Vector with the holes in the handle.

The Mattingly bats with the V-Grip

The Nike Bats with the "Notch"

With all of the discussion of being legal or not I didn't hear until last night that these bats will be legal for 2010, but possibly gone after that as there is apparently some litigation involved.

I had been under the impression that these would be gone for this year.

[dawg-man]

What we were told was that if a bat was legal in 2009 then its legal in 2010. Has anyome been told anything different?

[BrianC14]

What we were told was that if a bat was legal in 2009 then its legal in 2010. Has anyome been told anything different?

The rules on bats were made already, but they won't take effect until 1/1/2012.

Baseball:

Rule 1-3-2: Effective January 1, 2012 the bat which may be a wood or non-wood product shall be a smooth implement, from the top of the cap to the top of the knob. All non-wood bats shall meet the Batted Ball Coefficient or Restitution (BBCOR) performance standard, and such bats shall be labeled with a silk screen or other permanent certification mark.

Ref:

http://www.nfhs.org/content.aspx?id=2772

All this BS could have been avoided .... they could have said, "wood bats only".

[BT_Blue]

Not likely... though we all wish they would. The school doesnt want to pay for wood and I imagine they parents would revolt if they had to also. To me wood would be better. Its one of the reasons I like the JuCo league here in NW Oregon and SW Washington. They use wood and its a delight to work.

[ump81]

Warren , very good job getting the photos of the bats in there, I have not seen any of these yet in HS or College and I would have had no idea if I saw one out there and asked to rule on it. At the NC clinic in Chapel Hill their state director stated to allow them in this year and put out the BBCOR and new NCAA rules taking efect in 2001 and 2012. He feels this will eliminate them in the futuure, I think the new ruling will require a solid cylindrical body, but for now they are OK.

[Umpire in Chief]

I've seen the Vendetta and Nike models, not necessarily the composite, but the standard aluminum with the "notch"

[BrianC14]

I've seen the Vendetta and Nike models, not necessarily the composite, but the standard aluminum with the "notch"

I've seen both the Vendetta and the Vector - - talk about gimmicks! You'd have to swing those things at about 300 MPH before you'd notice any appreciable advantage.

A Vendetta goes for about $250 - - the Vector for around $280.

A decent wood bat is priced from a low of about $25 (Louisville Slugger basic ash bat) to about $80 for an M9 maple.

And don't give me any grief about breakage - - For $250, I can have TEN ash bats that will outlast a player's high school years - provided he wants to take care of them. In the meantime, I've seen these high-falutin' metal bats (one was brand new) split up the length, and have seen others get sawn off right at the top of the handle at the 18" mark. That first one that split length-wise... the catcher told me that bat was nearly $400 retail --- $400! - the kid that broke it was nearly in tears - said it was the first time he'd used it. "My Dad just bought that for me on Monday... " (As I recall, that particular kid had a tough time hitting the ball out of the infield - go figure).

Now let's talk safety.... NFHS is always harping about safety, and yet they were gutless to allow kids to continue using these 'high performance' bats for another two years!

[yawetag]

NFHS is always harping about safety, and yet they were gutless to allow kids to continue using these 'high performance' bats for another two years!

I think it was a matter of cost. If a school or parent has already forked over the $200+ for the bat, let them at least use it a few years before having to buy another one.

[BrianC14]

I think it was a matter of cost. If a school or parent has already forked over the $200+ for the bat, let them at least use it a few years before having to buy another one.

That just proves my point about the safety issue and the hypocrisy of this - - - by taking this approach, NFHS have themselves put money over safety. So if young Johnny the freshman star of the varsity squad at 3B takes one in the chops, what's FED going to say - "Well, we were taking the parents cost of these bats into consideration..." :nod: