Baseball Bat Rules

Here you can find baseball bat rules for many of the well-known leagues of youth and amateur baseball. Learn about the rules concerning bat weight and length.

Click on the link to which ever league you or your child plays in to open a new window and look at that league’s website. On the league websites you should see a link that says "Rules" or "Regulations." You should be able to find what you need there.

The main thing you are looking for is to see if there is a limitation on the length or the weight of the bat. Most leagues have a limit on the "drop." The drop is the difference between the length of the bat in inches, and the weight of the bat in ounces. High school and college leagues have a limit of a -3 drop. So if you have a 32 inch bat, the lightest it can weigh is 29 ounces.

Also high school and college bats are going to be required to comply with what is called the BBCOR (batted ball coefficient of restitution) rule. This will replace the older BESR (ball exit speed ratio) rule.

Update! Several leagues are no longer allowing the use of BESR rated bats in the adult category. Among these are NCAA, high school & AAU (NFHS rules), American Legion, and more. Youth leagues are also following suit including Little League by making the composite bats meet strict guidelines.

Below are several articles that I have found from the various leagues that you may find useful and will help you stay up to date regarding the ever evolving rules of non-wood bats in amateur baseball.

Or you can visit your league's website below and navigate to the rule sections to find the info you need.

NCAA Baseball

National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS)

American Legion Baseball

Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Baseball

Dixie Youth and Dixie Boys

Babe Ruth League

Little League Baseball

Pony Baseball