• Different softball organizations use different requirements for their bats.girl playing softball image by pixelcarpenter from Fotolia.com
  
  Depending on the league in which you play, there are varying standards for softball bats. There is actually no difference between bats used for slow pitch and fastpitch softball, particularly for college-aged players and adults. There are bats made specifically for the youth market that would be considered to be fastpitch bats.
  The differing bodies that govern softball use different requirements for approving the bats to be used in their organization.
  
  

98 MPH BBS

• The 98 MPH batted-ball-speed measure is the current standard for ASA, the largest governing body within the softball community. The rating is the result of a formula designed to determine the speed at which the bat meets the ball. In an attempt to ensure the safety of its players, ASA adopted 98 MPH as its new standard in 2004.
  
  The standard also meets the requirements of the other major softball associations - USSSA, NSA and ISF.
  
  

100 MPH

• The 100 MPH requirement is the standard formerly in play for ASA. Because of its licensing agreement with the bat manufacturers, these bats can still be used in ASA play. Those manufacturers no long make these bats, but those that predate 2004 still meet the standard for ASA. Within the other organizations, this measurement still meets the requirement.
  
  

100+ MPH

• Most of the organizations allow bats that meet the 100+ MPH requirement to be used in their league, but these bats are not allowed in ASA play.
  
  

1.20 BPF

• BPF is a different requirement standard than BBS. It stands for Bat Performance Factor. To calculate BPF, a ball is fired at a high speed at a still bat to see how fast the balls comes off the bat. If the speed coming off is at or less than 20 percent faster, the bat meets the 1.20 BPF requirement.
  ASA does not recognize this as a standard in its bat requirements, but most of the other governing softball associations allow it.