by Dan Sucato posted 12/18/2008 Monday November 16th
Dear Parents of Farmington Little Leaguers,
With the holidays upcoming we, at FYBL, thought it would be beneficial to distribute one of the 2009 rule changes that may affect some purchases in the near future. The rule pertains to bats, in particular, non-wood bats which make up over 99% of the bats used in the league. The rule as will be printed in the 2009 rule book:
Rule 1.10
1.10 - The bat must be a baseball bat which meets Little League specifications and standards as noted in this rule. It shall be a smooth, rounded stick and made of wood or of material and color tested and proved acceptable to Little League standards.
Little League (Majors) and below: it shall not be more than thirty-three (33) inches in length nor more than two and one-quarter (2¼) inches in diameter. Non-wood bats shall be printed with a BPF (bat performance factor) of 1.15 or less;
Over the last several years, most of the bats made by the top manufacturers have been compliant with the maximum 1.15 Bat Performance Factor (BPF). The difference is that beginning in 2009, all bats used in Little League Baseball must be imprinted with the BPF.
This means two things: If you plan on purchasing a bat for next season, make sure that it is imprinted with a BPF that is less than or equal to 1.15. Secondly, any bats used in past seasons without a proper imprint, will not be allowed to be used next season.
For more information on Little League International’s position on non-wood bats, click on the following link
Please feel free to contact Mike Gulino if you have any further questions.
See you in the Spring!
Mike Gulino
Safety Officer and Umpire-in-Chief, Farmington Youth Baseball
