Well, here in the San Francisco Bay Area we’re all breathing a little easier now that the Giants have won yet another World Series! And since I like to bring to your attention the importance of standards in the world around us, this is a great chance to discuss new editions for three ASTM baseball standards! Of course, in sports team effort and individual achievement rule supreme. But having equipment and fields that meet requirements for consistency and safety are essential. Here’s our offering for today:
ASTM F2219, 2014 Edition, Standard Test Methods for Measuring High-Speed Bat Performance
This year’s series was a breathtaking combination of both hitting and pitching. With both tight games and blowouts, it was a roller coaster ride for both teams. So bat performance is essential. When you choose your bat, you want to know various factors like BBCOR (Bat-Ball Coefficient of Restitution – a “trampoline” effect when the bat makes contact with the ball), BESR (Ball Exit Speed Ratio – a ratio of the ball exit speed to the speed of the incoming ball combined with the speed of the bat), and BBS (Batted Ball Speed – the speed with which a bat hits a ball.) This ASTM standard gives you the details of each of these tests and how to calculate them in laboratory settings.
ASTM F1887, 2014 Edition, Standard Test Method for Measuring the Coefficient of Restitution (COR) of Baseballs and Softballs
COR is the speed of the ball after collision with the bat divided by the speed of the ball before the collision. In ASTM F1887, you’ve got a procedure that gives you a single, repeatable way to measure this.
ASTM F2845, 2014 Edition, Standard Test Method for Measuring the Dynamic Stiffness (DS) and Cylindrical Coefficient of Restitution (CCOR) of Baseballs and Softballs
In generating your COR, there are some factors to be considered. One of these is the stiffness of the ball (DS – Dynamic Stiffness), since this can impact the way that the energy transfers between the bat and the ball. The harder the ball, the more lively it is. So the procedure is based on ball speed measurements before and after impact, as well as the impact force between the ball and impacted surface. The other thing that this standard provides is a way to use a cylindrical surface in the test, rather than a flat piece of material. This gives results that are more like the actual conditions of the sport.
If you’re interested in these types of tests, you’ll want to familiarize yourself with the Sports Sciences Laboratory at Washington State University. Lloyd Smith, PhD., from that facility is a leading member of the ASTM Committee F08 which develops these standards.
If you need copies of any current (and many obsolete) editions of ASTM standards, please go to the Document Center Inc. website at www.document-center.com. Here you’ll be able to order the standards you need in paper format or for pdf download. Want multi-user access? Ask our staff about our Standards Online subscription service. You can reach them by phone (650-591-7600), fax (650-591-7617) or email (info@document-center.com). And as we’ve been know to say around here, “Go Giants!”
