Is Player’s Baseball Bat Eligible? Check Out the Policy!

               

 

OYO Baseball Fans:

 

Greetings! While debriefing on-field experiences with our umpires this past weekend –including my own experience in a Super Major game – there is some ongoing confusion surrounding OYO’s bat eligibility policy. My hope with this message is to clear it up for all players, coaches, parents and umpires.

 

As an instructional and developmental league, OYO strives to promote a safe environment for all our rec league ballplayers regardless of their experience level. Over the years, the types of bats available have multiplied significantly in a way that some bats are simply far more dangerous in a rec league environment.

 

For the past seven years, our bat eligibility policy has remained the same and our players have remained safer. Now’s not the time to abandon what’s worked, but ensure everyone understand what’s acceptable. We have not communicated this in detail to all our divisions before now, so we own any confusion we have caused in recent weeks on game day.

 

The policy can be found online and is summarized below:

 

JUNIOR ROOKIE | ROOKIE | MINOR | SUPER MAJOR DIVISIONS:

  • Baseball bats may not have a barrel that exceeds 2-5/8 inches
  • Baseball bats that have a barrel larger than 2-1/4 inches must contain the official USA Baseball logo (see attachment)
  • A baseball bat with logo different than USA Baseball (ex. USSSA or BBCOR) still cannot exceed 2 1/4″
  • All bat lengths cannot exceed 33 inches
  • Softball bats not eligible in baseball games

 

JUNIOR BASEBALL DIVISION:

  • Baseball bats may not have a barrel that exceeds 2-5/8 inches
  • All bat lengths cannot exceed 34 inches
  • USA Baseball, USSSA and BBCOR bats are permitted
  • Softball bats not eligible in baseball games

 

IS YOUR BAT ELIGBLE?

Now, with these simple rules in place, we have one simple question. Is your ballplayer’s bat eligible? If so, then use it! If not, then save it for travel games or other locations … anywhere except our rec league.

And if you are unsure, then send an email with your team name, player’s name and photo of the bat (including certification stamps), to oyopresident1@gmail.com, and I personally will review the bat and confirm eligibility status to you and your team’s coach to ensure everyone is on the same page. (In the event of an overflow of email requests, please allow 24 hours for a reply.)

 

WHAT’S THE PENALTY FOR USING AN ILLEGAL BAT?

Now, what happens if your player uses an illegal bat? A lot! Allow me to summarize:

On first usage of an illegal bat:

  • Batter shall be declared out
  • If the ball was put in play, anyone put out is out and all runners not put out are returned to the base occupied before the ball was put into play
  • Both the team and head coach are each issued a warning

Every time an illegal bat is found for the remainder of the game:

  • The batter and acting head coach are ejected and the aforementioned penalty to the batter and baserunners are applied.
  • When the ejected player’s turn appears in the lineup, the offensive team is charged an out for that at bat
  • Each ejected player and coach will be suspended for a second game per OYO Code of Conduct for an ejection

 

Once again, this policy is in place to keep all OYO’s ballplayers – including your ballplayer – save and out of harms way. We truly appreciate you choosing OYO as your place for baseball, and we want to ensure every player has a memorable experience and comes back to play the national pastime for seasons to come!

 

With much appreciation and gratitude!
Michael DeSanto
OYO President | OYO Vice President, Game Day Operations