State CIF approves aluminum bat standards

The state California Interscholastic Federation approved new performance standards for aluminum

baseball bats.

The state CIF’s November 1 decision requires that aluminum bats used for the 2011 season meet the performance standards currently required for composite bats. The bats must meet the ball-bat coefficient of restitution standards, pass the accelerated break-in procedure, and have a tamper-proof decal or stamp affixed which certifies that the bat meets standards and notes the type of material contained in the barrel of the bat. The purpose of the new rule is to reduce the speed of baseballs hit off the bats, thus reducing the risk of serious injury to fielders, base runners, and coaches.

Fallbrook High School varsity baseball coach Mark DiBenedetti saw some of the standard-meeting bats at a late October game played at the University of San Diego.

“Boy, are they going to help the pitchers,” DiBenedetti said. “The ball does not come off the bat like it did off the old bat. There’s definitely a little bit of a power outage there, compared to the old bats.”

An injury in Northern California led a member of the State Assembly to introduce legislation to prohibit non-wood bats in high school baseball. The executive committee of the state CIF, which is comprised of ten sections including the San Diego Section, worked on an alternative solution.

“The kids will adjust to it,” DiBenedetti said of the new bats.

The CIF San Diego Section first allowed aluminum bats for the 1972 season. The original popularity of aluminum bats was due not to the distance of balls hit with metal bats, but rather to the cost savings of not having to replace broken wood bats.

Prior to the use of aluminum bats in high school baseball, coaches would often glue a broken bat back together and even nail it together if necessary, sometimes placing a fiberglass sleeve over the repaired part, although those bats were used only in practice and not for games.

Bill Waite, who was Fallbrook High School’s baseball coach when aluminum bats were legalized, noted that prior to the switch the Fallbrook High School athletic department would purchase a gross of wood bats for $50. The thin-handled bats were used for games, while fiberglass sleeves were put on the rest and used for batting practice; the fiberglass sleeves reduced the need for replacements, as they would last until the barrel eventually

chipped away.

The cost of the compliant bats ranges between $100 and $400.

“The bats are expensive,” DiBenedetti said.

The bats used during the 2010 season are in the same price range, but the old bats will not be allowed for the 2011 season, as they are not certified. In most Fallbrook High School cases, the cost for the new bats will be borne by the players and their families.

“The kids take care of their own bats. There’s no money in our funds to buy bats for the kids,” DiBenedetti said.

Because the players or their families are also responsible for their own gloves and cleats, placing the responsibility for the bats on the players does not violate any policy prohibiting “pay to play” in high school athletics. Many players actually prefer using personal bats.

“The kids like to have their own bats,” DiBenedetti said.

In the case of financial hardship, past practice, which is expected to continue, involves players using teammates’ bats.

“A lot of the kids will share bats,” DiBenedetti said. “Everybody works together on that.”

DiBenedetti added that if team bats are needed the baseball program will have a fundraiser. DiBenedetti notes that team fundraisers serve a purpose other than providing for the financial needs of the baseball program; they enable the players to interact with the community while also providing off-field experience for the players to work with each other.

If the new bats actually reduce the distance the balls travel, some batters and teams who previously relied on hitting home runs will transition to ball placement and advancing runners. Thus the decreased power of the new bats could place more emphasis on fundamentals.

“That’s our team,” DiBenedetti said. “I’m not counting on home runs. The home runs are going to be a bonus.”

DiBenedetti places a value on such tactics as the hit-and-run play and hitting to the opposite field.

“That’s how they’re going to play it,” he said. “These kids are going to be running and gunning, and we’ve got the speed to do it.”

DiBenedetti, who was the Warriors’ pitching coach in 2009 and 2010, feels that pitchers will gain more than they will lose by the decreased power, but the de-emphasis on home runs could cause the pitchers to be more concerned about base runners.

“What I’m looking for is moving that ball around,” DiBenedetti said. “Pitching and defense have got to be there.”

The outfield fence at Duke Snider Field is 14 feet high. The foul lines are 314 feet from home plate, the power alleys are 334 feet away from the plate, and the distance to dead center is only 336 feet. Professional baseball scouts thus often dismiss home run statistics of Fallbrook High School players due to the short fence.

“They’d rather see a kid hitting .500 or .560 or .480 with 38 stolen bases where a short fence doesn’t impact that,” DiBenedetti said.

Major League Baseball itself has seen a recent decrease in home runs with a corresponding increased emphasis on advancing runners 90 feet at a time.

“The steroid era’s over. It’s about hard work and athletic ability,” DiBenedetti said of Major League Baseball. “It’s a speed game now. It’s speed and defense.”

DiBenedetti utilizes off-season leagues, and his players’ first Fall scrimmage October 26 produced a win over Calvary Christian.

“My job is to get these kids playing fundamental baseball,” DiBenedetti said.

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