Breaking-in a new bat

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obbay

Banned
Aug 21, 2008
2,199
0
Boston, MA
Is it ok to break in a new bat by using it at the batting cages (machine pitch)?

I'm thinking of a DeMarini CF4 and was just wondering.
 
Aug 4, 2008
2,364
0
Lexington,Ohio
We do it all the time. Just make sure the kid is turning the bat. The CF4 is not as hot as the CF3. Hitter has a post on here about hitting balls in the cage.
 
Sep 3, 2009
675
0
Breaking in a composite in the cage?? With real balls I think that would be fine, just rotate it as mentioned. I wouldn't dare hit dimple "cage" balls with a composite. Demarini doesn't recommend it, and to my knowledge, no other composite bat manufacturer does either.
 
Aug 4, 2008
2,364
0
Lexington,Ohio
We have hit dimpled balls in the cage for years and we hit baseballs not softballs with no issues. Just as Howard/Hitter posted, how would the bat manufacturer know what you hit? We use soft scrub to clean the residue off the bats , so if you did that, they wouldn't have a clue if something happened.
 

Hitter

Banned
Dec 6, 2009
653
0
Breaking in a composite in the cage?? With real balls I think that would be fine, just rotate it as mentioned. I wouldn't dare hit dimple "cage" balls with a composite. Demarini doesn't recommend it, and to my knowledge, no other composite bat manufacturer does either.

absdad

Dimpled is a visual of a what a typical ball may look like..."Durometer is one of several measures of the hardness of a material. Hardness may be defined as a material's resistance to permanent indentation. The durometer scale was defined by Albert F. Shore, who developed a measurement device called a durometer in the 1920s. The term durometer is often used to refer to the measurement, as well as the instrument itself. Durometer is typically used as a measure of hardness in polymers, elastomers and rubbers.[1]"

Some cages still use a very hard ball that feels like a rock as to compressibility or durometer or the measure of hardness. There are cage balls that are not an issue however a bat company will say they are all bad unless they also make cage balls and will tell you their ball is safe to use. The newer double wheeled machines and I think it might be ABC has a ball with latitude and longitude lines with dimples in each area are softer so it does not tear up the wheels or the bats. Just check which type they use and use some common sense as some of these balls are indeed very hard!

Also remember the warranty is void if you use it at 60 degrees and in some cases 50 degrees or less....look it up!

Thanks Howard
 
Sep 3, 2009
675
0
I'm sure there is no way for them to tell. I personally would prefer to follow the manufacturer's recommendations, just like many others out there. It's a non issue for us, since our local indoor facility has several jugs machines and buckets of real balls. If someone wants to hit the cage balls, more power to em'. I'm sure you could go years, if not forever with nothing happening. I've heard of cracked and broken bats from hitting cage balls, and figure if the manufacturer thinks enough of it to put something in their warranty, then it's probably for good reason. Most everyone I've ever seen, doesn't use their composite in the cage w/ dimple balls. I spent $40 for a cage bat of same length/drop. No worries.
 

Coach-n-Dad

Crazy Daddy
Oct 31, 2008
1,010
0
DD has been hitting 60MPH+ "dimpled" balls at the local cage for 2 years with her DiMarini CF3. No visible damage to the bat and it is still just as hot as ever. She has the CF4 as a back-up for when the CF3 poops out.
 

obbay

Banned
Aug 21, 2008
2,199
0
Boston, MA
thanks everyone!
One reason I ask is that the cages we use now do not use those hard, dimpled balls. The ball they use is softer and I've seen a few of them split on impact (getting old, I presume).

Interesting post ray re: CF4 not being as hot as the CF3- DD has a CF3 and never got hits with it anywhere near like the ones she got/gets with her 375 (doublewall aluminum). A girl on her team got a CF4 and it seems to launch the ball with little effort, so I thought it would be hotter than CF3.

There's a place near me that allows you to road test their bats to find what bat is right for you. I will be going there.
 
May 13, 2008
831
16
This isn't rocket surgery, the manufacturers don't want you to use the bat in the cage because they know that the more swings one takes with a bat, composite or otherwise, the more likely it is to break. The less you take advantage of the 1-year warranty the better it is for their bottom line.
 

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