High school baseball pitchers better have their heads on a swivel beginning in 2028, because the game is about to change.
On Wednesday, USA Baseball and the National Federation of High School State Associations (NFHS) announced that the NFHS Rules Committee voted to expand permitted bat drop weights in high school baseball to include -4, -5, and -6.
For those who don’t know, “bat drop weights” is the difference between a bat’s length (in inches) and its weight (in ounces). For example, the current rules say a bat must be -3, or a drop-3. If a bat is 31 inches long, it must be weigh 28 ounces. That’s standard practice for bats in high school baseball.
VANDERBILT PITCHER SCREAMS AT BATTER LIKE A MANIAC, GETS HIT WITH INSTANT KARMA ONE PITCH LATER
A 31-28 bat, 32-29, or 33-30. You get the picture.
Starting in 2028, players will be able to legally use a lighter bat, hence the -4, -5, or -6. USA Baseball sold the move as a necessary one to “keeping more athletes in baseball and supporting their long-term development.”
I’m not so sure. Neither are fans, parents, or coaches.
“We have seen too many athletes entering high school baseball struggle with the immediate jump to the -3-drop weight and then walk away from the game,” USA Baseball President John Gall said in a release. “This rule change creates flexibility for players to continue building strength, refining mechanics, and developing bat speed over time before making the jump to USA BBCOR.”
I’m just not sure its the best move, I’ll be honest here. I played high school baseball. In fact, I played baseball for well over a decade, all the way through college.
I’ve seen what legit high school prospects can do with a bat. I played before the current BBCOR bat was in place.
For those who haven’t brushed up on their high school sports terms in the past decade, BBCOR bats were introduced in 2012 and are basically just a toned-down version of the old aluminum bats we used to use and absolutely annihilate balls with.
They are essentially a bridge to the wood bats they use at the professional level. BBCOR stands for Batted Ball Coefficient of Restitution, and basically controls how much energy transfers from a bat to the ball upon impact.
And that’s your science lesson for today!
Anyway, high school baseball mandated these bats after the 2011 season at both the college and high school level, and it’s been pretty much business as usual ever since. Why USA Baseball decided to allow players to make them lighter all of a sudden is puzzling.
They’re billing it as a way to keep players from “walking away from the game,” which, again, is puzzling. I’ve never once seen nor heard of a player walk away from high school baseball because the bat was too heavy. Come on.
Basically, in the name of inclusivity, USA Baseball has now put a lighter bat in the hands of a 220-pound, 5-tool prospect who can already tear the cover off the ball as is.
Parents, coaches and fans were quick to point that out after USA Baseball made the announcement:
I could go on and on. Folks are angry, and I get it.
Personally, this comment from Southwest Tennessee Community College coach Erik Schoenrock really did it for me:
“If you’re not using a -3 bat by the time you’re 14 or 15 years old… don’t worry about college baseball recruiting. You’re not getting prepared,” said Schoenrock, a former University of Memphis pitcher who was drafted by the Padres in 2013.
“And personally, I think this is ridiculous… just asking for someone to get hurt. 0 player safety thoughts with this new rule.”
To me, this feels like a step backwards in terms of high school baseball development. Right? Again, my final year of high school baseball back in 2011 was the final year of the old bats. The next year, BBCOR’s were made mandatory, partly due to safety concerns.
But, they were also a bridge to the wood bats used in professional baseball.
If you really want to develop amateurs, why not just make the move to wood bats entirely and ditch the metal? That’s what they did pre-1973(ish). The good ‘ol days. The simpler days.
“Back when men were men!” as my grandpa would say.
Instead, we’re giving them the option to use … lighter … bats? I don’t get it. Even more puzzling was the reasoning. Because kids are walking away from the game?
Odd.
“The adoption of the USA Baseball BBCOR standard and expanding the available drop-weight options provides younger and developing players with additional opportunities to build proper mechanics, confidence, and skills while maintaining the risk minimization and performance standards expected in education-based athletics,” said NFHS Director of Sports, Sanctioning, and Student Services Elliot Hopkins.
Risk minimization?
We’ll see.
