Little League Composite Ban Being Felt Everywhere

Roy Hobbs didn't need a composite to tear the cover off the ball...


When the vaunted Wall Street Journal deems it relevant to report on a sports story, you know that story has become mainstream. Today's WSJ has a column entitled "Ejected from Little League". This space reported on the ban back in January, but now that Little Leaguers everywhere are back on the field, the changes are being felt.

The WSJ article raises all sorts of safety issues and even some hysteria (pitchers wearing helmets?) around the topic, but let's break it down: this is really a response to control, testing validity and marketing. All bats that are approved in Little League must have a maximum BPF of 1.15, which approximates the performance of a wood bat. It has been an open secret for some time that composite bats are not "hot out of the wrapper", but rather have a break-in period, say 150 - 300 hits, after which they become "hot", or achieve maximum performance. Independent testing of several models of composites verified that many bats which are BPF 1.15 when new wind up exceeding the standard after break-in. The bat manufacturers know this, and now that Little League has had this verified to them, Williamsport has decided to exercise its authority and take control of the situation. Why? Because that's what Williamsport does best.

A few years back, my town LL went to wood bats for Minors (ages 9-10) and Majors (ages 11-12) during the Little League regular season. To be honest, I thought it was a bad idea at the time. I figured it would just make the pitchers even more dominant, particular in the Majors where an almost-6 footer throwing from 46' will usually set down 90% of the hitters he faces. But after 3 seasons of wood, I get it.  Balls don't rocket off the bat, which gives marginal kids a chance to play the infield or even pitch without the same risk they would be taking in a metal/composite league. Coaches really can't use the old "I was afraid he might get hurt" excuse for never allowing a kid to play the infield. And, for our travel kids who go back to metal and composite for the summer season, it is great training to use the wood.

Now a word on Pitchers Helmets: I am not a believer. Dawn Comstock, principal investigator for Ohio State University's Center for Injury Research and Policy. "The difference between ball speed coming off of different bats is not that great...You would be much more effective protecting pitchers if, instead of regulating the type of bats used, you simply required pitchers to wear a helmet, particularly a helmet with a face shield." I have no idea what the statistics are for young pitchers getting hit in the head and face with batted balls. I have coached more than 25 seasons of baseball between my sons, and while I have seen it in the MLB, honestly I don't think I've ever seen a kid take one off the face in that manner. Shins, elbows, knees, yes. But the natural reaction is to protect the face, and pitchers must be taught to be ready to field the position after their follow through. I have seen more unsuspecting fielders take a thrown ball to the face or chest because they weren't paying attention. Of course, Easton has ridden to the rescue with a new Pitchers Helmet prototype, which is no surprise given that it sees a market opportunity in all of the composite bat hue and cry. Either they need to make up for lost revenues from the composite ban, or they need to approach the ban from a different direction - let's keep composites, but we will protect the pitchers better!

Little League claims the ban is not about safety but fairness. Bat technology just keeps getting more advanced every year. I'm not sure where the fairness issue comes in when you are operating in a free market where everyone is able to purchase these bats, unless they feel that bat technology favors the affluent and kids from families and towns of lesser means aren't getting the same advantage because they can't afford a $300 bat.

Looking at what has happened since the ban was announced in January, I am beginning to wonder. First, Williamsport made a List of Approved Non-Wood/Non-Composite Bats which was last updated on March 22, 2011. But, after predictably intense lobbying from the bat companies, Williamsport has also released a list of Approved 2.25" Composite Bats; bats that received waivers from Little League HQ. And there are some old favorites on the list: Combat B3, DeMarini CF4, Easton Stealth...

All in all, I'm not sure much has changed for the kids, but good luck to the umpires in policing all of this!

Little League Bans Composite Bats

It certainly couldn't have been a happy New Year for the likes of DeMarini, ComBat and Easton, and their hangover is likely to last right through the beginning of the 2011 youth baseball season. Shortly after Christmas, Williamsport came down with an edict that extended a moratorium on the use of composite bats into the bread and butter Majors division. This extended the ban that Williamsport had enacted in higher age brackets last summer. This is the proverbial "Big One" however, and is likely to have a significant impact on Little League World Series play.

The issue of bat performance has been at the heart of discussions concerning high school and college baseball safety for several years. As young players get bigger and stronger, the ferocious bat speed - and consequent ball speed - they sometimes generate can be frightening. Titanium bats were banned long ago for precisely that reason. Many high schools and teen travel leagues have adopted wood bats to ensure safer play. The Major Leagues have never seriously entertained using non-wood bats, and the number of pitchers getting smoked by line drives in any given year tells you why.

Twelve and under play had appeared to be somewhat immune from the debate. Many local Little Leagues had adopted wood bats in the last few years for Minors (9 & 10) and Majors (11 & 12), with the rationale that it allowed many of the less accomplished players more of an opportunity to play infield or pitch, as they could do so without the fear of a rifle-shot line drive taking their head off. Yet, when summer tournament play resumed, the metal and composite bats were back, yielding to the conventional wisdom that the players were more accomplished overall.

Well, it's all gonna change. Let's examine the annual Williamsport tournament for a clue why. Typically, players are introduced to the tournament as 9 or 10 year olds. Most of the pitchers throw with reasonable velocity, but there seems to be more hitting at this age group as the young batters are fairly evenly matched with their pitching counterparts who stand 46' away. Gradually, the balance of power swings overwhelmingly to the hurlers, as they grow bigger and stronger. By the time the 12 year old Little League World Series Tournament begins (what you see on TV in the summer) things are dramatically different. Many of those 12 year olds are actually 13, having a birthday that falls after the Little League May 1 deadline. The pitchers throw hard. Very hard. Many have off-speed pitches. And they are still standing 46 feet away from home plate. While hitters are also bigger and stronger, I've watched enough youth baseball to know that this matchup clearly favors the pitcher. What's a hitter to do?

Well, enter the composite bat. Technology has taken that good old piece of lumber and transformed it into a $300 wonder of modern science. weighing up to 13.5 ounces less than the length of the bat. For some perspective on that, picture the standard youth wood Louisville Slugger. A 30" model, ash bat would probably weigh between 25 and 27 ounces. Now consider the DeMarini Vexxum 30". At 16.5 ounces with a generous sweet spot it helps close the gap on those big hurlers. Make solid contact? It's gone. Defensive swing? Maybe you'll hit a flare into right field. It definitely increases the chances that a good hitter will make something happen.

Now organized youth baseball has adopted certain standards over the years. And one of these is the BESR, or "Ball Exit Speed Ratio" rating. Bat manufacturers test samples of their product, and certify that the BESR is 1.15, which is similar to that of the best wood bats. Here is where the problem begins. It is well known that composite bats have a break-in period before they reach peak performance. The composite bats tested in the laboratory - yes, the ones with the 1.15 BESR certification - have not been broken in. The latest study from U Mass-Lowell must have scared the heck out of the Little League hierarchy. The research concluded that "composite bats, while they may meet this standard when new, can exceed that standard after a break-in process".

So, on December 30, just 5 days after many young sluggers woke up to find new ComBat B3 or ExoGrid under the Christmas tree, Little League International handed down the moratorium. There's no doubt that Williamsport, PA will look like Capitol Hill, Washington D.C. over the next few months as Wilson, Rawlings, Easton, et. al. lobby hard for exceptions to the rule. Make no mistake, there is big money at stake here, which always has an impact in organized sports.

Little League International's position has been, effectively, "stay tuned". They have referred folks to their facebook page for real time updates and discussion. They have also circulated a list of approved non-wood bats which has been updated several times since the announcement.

The fallout from this decision should be apparent this summer when Williamsport Tournament play begins. Just how dominant will the pitchers be? Will we see a measurable decrease in offense? Will anyone get caught cheating? Which non-composite high tech marvel will become this year's "hot bat"? Only time will tell how much impact this decision will have on the actual state of play on the diamond.