All ASA Banned Bats Are Illegal in All Leagues.

CLICK HERE FOR A LIST OF ASA BANNED BATS — WITH PICTURES

All Composite Bats Are Illegal Except in Open CC, Open C and Seniors A Leagues.

For safety reasons, the League limits the use of bats with composite exterior barrels to Open CC, Open C and Seniors A only. Titanium bats and all bats that appear on the ASA’s official list of banned bats are illegal in all divisions.

Don’t even think about bringing one of these bats up to the plate! An out will be called, and the player will be ejected from the game. No exceptions.

Legal in All Leagues: So-called “Half and Half” bats (composite handle, metal barrel) such as the Demarini F3, F2 and Vexxum, and the Easton SST3 Stealth, are legal in SF Softball, as long as they are on the ASA Certified Bats list — listed here (use the pull down menu to select”bats”.)

Demarini White Steel is legal in all leagues.

General Guideline: A Bat is Illegal If . . .

• It has a barrel made of composite material. (The entire outer shell of the barrel of a LEGAL bat should be made entirely of metal, typically aluminum. By contrast, composite bats are made of a carbon fiber blend.) See below for a reference list of composite bats.  Composite bats are illegal in all levels of play except Open CC, Open C and Seniors A.

• It appears on the ASA’s banned bat list (CLICK HERE FOR BANNED BAT LIST WITH PICTURES)  (see also below). — Applies to all levels of play.

• It’s one of several bats that the ASA requires to carry a Recertification mark (see below), and it does not carry the required mark. — Applies to all levels of play.

• It’s not on the list of ASA Certified Bats — listed here (use the pull down menu to select”bats”.) This rule applies to all levels of play.

Bottom line: Don’t rush out and buy a newly released bat just because it’s not yet on the list . . . check with us first! Call the League Office at (415) 831-6317

SF Softball Partial List of Composite Bats — These Bats Are Illegal Except in Open CC, Open C and Seniors A:

Combat B1 98
Demarini EVO AX
Dudley Fusion, Fusion 2
Easton Flex
Easton Stealth
Easton SCN3 Synergy CNT Flex
Easton SCX3 Synergy Extended
Miken Camo 484
Miken Edge
Miken  Freak 98
Miken HHD
Miken Maniac 282
Miken Maniac 484
Miken M-Pulse
Miken Velocit-E, Velocit-E II
Miken Viper
Mizuno Crush, Crush 2, Crush G3
Mizuno Techfire, Techfire Classic, Techfire Fury, Techfire Rage, Techfire Envy
Rawlings SBACL Silverback ACL Composite Layered
Toledo Katana (all)
TPS SB-206 Catalyst
TPS SB-105 Catalyst
Worth 3DX Dimension Technology (DT3XSP)
Worth GX4
Worth Asylum ASY98
Worth Mayhem 98

Note: Worth 2004 Wicked Max SBWKA (aluminum) is a legal bat in SF

These bats are banned in all divisions:

Easton Titanium (all Titanium bats are illegal)
Louisville Slugger TiXXl
Easton Z-Core Titanium, SC 777 Connexion Model ST5-2
Miken T22C6
Miken Freak

There may be other bats that are also composite and therefore illegal. If in doubt, try the feel, “eyeball” and “knock-knock” tests — you will probably be able to tell a metal bat from a fiberglass one!

Once again, here is the ASA Banned Bats List as of 3/08 (Click Here) . These Bats Are Illegal in All Leagues

General Guideline: Look for  the ASA Certification Mark or the ASA Recertification Mark. Older bats carry an ASA 2000 mark. As long as they appear on the current ASA Certified Bats list, they are legal, unless they are composites (except in Open CC, Open C and Seniors A divisions), appear on the list above, or appear on the list below of older bats which are required to carry a Recertification Mark, but the bat in question does not have it.

ASA Certification and Recertification Marks:

Bats with the ASA Certified 2004 mark are newer bats that are legal for play:

Worth 3DX Recertified with ASA Recertification Mark
Worth EST23 Recertified with ASA Recertification Mark
Worth EST5 Recertified with ASA Recertification Mark
Worth ESTL Recertified with ASA Recertification Mark
Worth PST Recertified with ASA Recertification Mark
Worth SSEST Recertified with ASA Recertification Mark
These bats require the “XTRA graphic,” not the Recertification Mark.
Worth XCUESTX with XTRA graphic
Worth XEST23X with XTRA graphic
Worth XEST5X with XTRA graphic
Worth XESTLX with XTRA graphic
Worth XPSTX with XTRA graphic
Worth XSSESTX with XTRA graphic

Any comments or corrections to this list should be called to the attention of the League Office.

If you have questions or comments on bat policy, call us at (415) 831-6317 or send us e-mail: LeagueOffice {at} SFSoftball(.)com

IF IN DOUBT ABOUT A BAT, CALL THE LEAGUE OFFICE BEFORE YOU BUY IT!

Also see our Ball page.

Illegal Bat Challenge Rule

It is extremely difficult to keep our bat list up to date, and it is possible that a bat may be illegal for league play but not yet on our list. Since safety is the primary reason for our bat policies, the use of questionable bats will not be allowed. Just because a bat isn’t on the list doesn’t mean that it is not illegal.

To address this issue, we have initiated the bat challenge rule. This rule allows a team or an umpire to challenge the legality of a bat, even if it doesn’t appear on the list.

Once a bat is challenged, if the umpire deems it illegal, it cannot be used. If the umpire deems the bat legal, it will be allowed and play will continue. If the umpire isn’t sure of the legality of the bat, it can be removed from the game at the umpire’s discretion. In this case, the automatic out call is waived, and the player is allowed to get another bat and continue his or her at-bat.

The challenged bat is then disqualified for the rest of the game, and must be cleared through the league office before it can be used again in a game. It is the player’s or manager’s responsibility to contact the league office to have a bat declared legal for league play. Bringing an identified illegal bat to the plate will still result in an out being called, the bat being disqualified, and the player immediately ejected from the game.

It is the responsibility of the manager to inform his or her team as to the rules and regulations of our league concerning bats. Managers may also contact the league office with any questions regarding legal or illegal bats.