What is B.B.C.O.R?

Through the years non-wood baseball bats have served players very well. Too well, in fact, that many began to point out that the bats had been giving an unfair advantage to those who used them. Unlike wood bats which have a solid body, aluminum and composite bats are hollow flexible tubes. When a ball makes contact with a hollow bat, they both compress. Against a solid-piece wood bat, however, it is only the ball that compresses.

The more compression of the ball occurs, the more of its energy is lost. Since a non-wood bat takes away much of this compression action from the ball, the ball retains more of its own energy during the transfer, thereby making it jump farther than it would have if it compressed more. This catapult-like action is called the "trampoline effect."Because of the advancement of baseball bat technology, bats became increasingly durable and flexible. Many non-wood bats increased their trampoline levels as they aged, and players using them were subsequently able to rack up more and more successful hits. The performance of wood bats meanwhile stayed relatively unchanged. This led to the calls for action to address the widening gap in performance between the two types of bats.

To restore fairness, N.C.A.A and N.F.H.S (to date, only adult bats require B.B.C.O.R certification) decided to regulate the trampoline effect of non-wood bats with their introduction of the Batted Ball Coefficient of Restitution, or the B.B.C.O.R. The B.B.C.O.R, which super-cedes the B.E.S.R (Ball Exit Speed Ratio), basically measures trampoline effect. If a bat's B.B.C.O.R rating is deemed too high during testing, it will not get the stamp of approval for use in official tournaments. B.B.C.O.R. bats are therefore assured of behaving almost like real wood bats.

The Easton edge
Easton baseball bats are synonymous with innovation. The company is a leader in bat development and technology and it is currently the manufacturer of choice of many teams and players. Despite the restrictions set by B.B.C.O.R, Easton's special bat designs still outperform other brands because of their advanced bat design and manufacturing technologies.

Easton's extensive selection of B.B.C.O.R-certified baseball bats is enough to cater to all kinds of hitters. The latest lineup, called the Power Brigade, features two lines of end-loaded and balanced bats. The lines, called XL and S, have three items each. XL1, XL2 and XL3 are all end-loaded, while S1, S2 and S3 are speed-oriented and have a balanced distribution of weight. XL1 and S1 are the lightest and most flexible in the lineup because the barrels and handles, though separate, are made of an all-composite material; XL2 and S2 feature composite handles and alloy barrels; and XL3 and S3, the stiffest and most durable, are both one-piece all-alloy bats. Some wood bats are B.B.C.O.R-certified too. These include the Maple Composite MC110 B.B.C.O.R, the Maple Composite MC271 B.B.C.O.R and the Bamboo 110 B.B.C.O.R.