provided by:  Little League Online, Communications Division
SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa.
January 20, 2011

On Dec. 30, 2010, Little League International announced it had expanded its moratorium on the use of composite bats to all of its baseball divisions, including the Little League (Majors) division, effective immediately.

Because of the moratorium, several common questions have arisen. We have addressed the most common questions below with Patrick Wilson, Little League International’s Vice President of Operations.

If you have further questions, we encourage you to sign on to Little League’s Facebook page. At that page, over the past few days, Little League International staff has answered hundreds of questions regarding the moratorium. The Little League Facebook page is here: http://www.facebook.com/LittleLeagueBaseballAndSoftball

By definition, a moratorium is: An authorized delay or stopping of some specified activity. As applied by Little League International, the moratorium disallows the use of all baseball bats constructed with composite material in its barrel unless a specific model shows in laboratory testing that it will not exceed the standard that is printed on the bat, after the bat is broken in.

There is a process through which manufacturers can submit individual models for a possible waiver if they wish to seek it. Individual bat models are tested at an independent laboratory, and the results are conveyed to the manufacturer. If the manufacturer provides the results to Little League, and the bat passes the test, it will be noted on one of the two following lists.

Information on the composite baseball bats that have received waivers for the Junior, Senior, and Big League Baseball Divisions of Little League can be found here:
http://www.littleleague.org/learn/equipment/approvedcompbats.htm

Information on the composite baseball bats that have received waivers for the Little League (Majors) Baseball Division and below can be found here:
http://www.littleleague.org/learn/equipment/approvedcompbatssmall.htm (This list is updated regularly, please check the page for the latest additions)

Wooden and aluminum metal/alloy bats are not subject to the moratorium. Bats that have only a metal or alloy barrel (and no other material, unless it is in the end cap of the bat), and if it meets the other standards (length, diameter, etc. for the respective division in which it is used) are not subject to the moratorium, regardless of the composition of the handle or the transition to the barrel.

A listing of licensed, non-wood/non-composite baseball bats for use in the Little League (Majors) Division and below can be found here: http://www.littleleague.org/Assets/forms_pubs/2011ApprovedNonWoodBatList.pdf (This list is updated regularly, please download for latest version)

“The moratorium is not the result of Little League changing its bat standards, nor was it influenced by any relationships with bat manufacturers,” Patrick W. Wilson, Vice President of Operations at Little League International, said. “The decision to place the moratorium on composite bats in Little League’s baseball divisions is based solely on the fact that scientific research showed that composite-barreled bats may exceed the performance standard that is printed on the bats, after the bats had been broken in. Until that research was in hand there was no data to support an earlier decision.

“For the same reason, a delay or phase-in period for existing composite bats would be the wrong decision. A delay or phase-in would mean we would have allowed bats to be used, after we had data from laboratory research to show such bats exceed the standard printed on the bat.”

Little League International first placed the moratorium on composite bats in the Junior, Senior, and Big League Baseball Divisions of Little League. Subsequent to that moratorium, scientific research that began on October 18, 2010, showed the need for the same moratorium on composite-barreled bats with 2 1/4 inch barrels as well. Starting in September, and throughout the following weeks, this information was conveyed multiple times to every local Little League, every district, to the media, on Facebook, on the Little League web site, and to more than 250,000 parents who had signed up to receive updates from Little League International.

The original announcement regarding the moratorium, enacted on September 1, 2010, is here: http://www.littleleague.org/media/newsarchive/2010/Sep-Dec/CompositeBatMoratium.htm

“We needed to wait to make a decision until there was conclusive scientific research on the smaller barrel bats,” Mr. Wilson said. “A decision any earlier was not possible. Within hours of receiving enough of that data to make a decision, Little League made it, and we let our constituents know about it. From the beginning, and throughout this process, we have used the means at our disposal to keep everyone informed.”

The moratorium on composite bats, which now applies to all baseball divisions of Little League, does not apply to any softball divisions of Little League.