The Amateur Softball Association oversees many aspects of competitive fast- and slow-pitch softball, including the standards for legal bats in the industry. The ASA does not want players to use bats that give hitters a major advantage over pitchers and allow them to hit the ball harder and farther.
2011 Standard
Prior to the start of the 2011 softball season, the NCAA instituted a rule that no bat may have a speed rating higher than 98 mph, meaning 98 mph is the maximum speed that the ball may come off the bat. This came after a dramatic increase in home run totals across college softball in 2010. The University of Hawaii softball team hit 158 home runs that season, beating the previous team record by 24. Bat testers found that the speed of the softball off the bat often exceeded 104 MPH, so the NCAA decided to institute the change.
Machine Testing
Bat manufacturers like Easton make machines to measure the exit speed of the softball off the barrel of the bat. The machines measure bat compression at two points on the bat. The bat is placed in the machine, which looks like a vice with electronic elements to measure ball speed. If the bat is legal, the machine stays silent. If the bat does not meet ASA standards, the machine beeps to alert testers that the bat is not legal.
Certification Mark
The use of certified bats is required by the ASA and the NCAA in all softball games. For bats to be considered legal, they must have certification marks that include the year 2000 for older bats and 2004 for bats that have been manufactured since then. If umpires do not see either certification mark on the bats, they do not have to approve the bats for use in games.
Technological Advances
It has been difficult for the ASA to keep up with bat manufacturers as the industry continues to use composite materials. NCAA Division I softball has seen home run totals double between 2000 and 2010, so college officials want to use tougher standards to help the game produce normalized home run totals. "I can tell you that in the last three years, more than 40 percent of the bats (from the World Series) that we've tested in the lab have come back too high," Dee Abrahamson, secretary-rules editor of the NCAA Softball Rules Committee, told the University of Alabama's Tide Sports. "Those are all our best teams in the country and we're coming up with more than 40 percent that have exceeded the standard. That's a staggeringly high number. The goal is zero."
Member Comments