Opinions on Bat Usage

[Cobb_of_Fury]

I know this is a stupid question but..

How do you know if a composite bat is dead and not that she is just not hitting well?
OR is it that obvious -

We actually have moved up sizes quick enough that we have not run in to A Dead bat but now my DD is working with what had been a slightly used (no idea what slightly means in this context) CF4 - and I'm expecting the end soon.

 

[JAD]

My DD carries two bats in her bag.....last years bat and this years bat. Last years bat is used for practice and in cold weather. This years bat is used for game days. Repeat next year.

 

[CoreSoftball20]

Similar to what jwalk said, I let my daughter put around 200 hits on her Mako (10/13 manufacture date) right of the wrapper. After that, she got to put 20 hits per week on it with hard balls during the dedicated batting practice, and as many wiffle/softee hits as she wanted. We've played two tournaments so far, and I let her warm up with the Mako as well, plus game use. All told, I would estimate around 700 hits so far, and the ball is absolutely flying off the bat on her game hits.

Now, for the (potentially) bad news: After the last tournament, I was cleaning off some of the smudge marks and noticed what looks to me like the beginnings of a crack down in the lower third of the bat. I know the paint is thick, so it might just be paint-deep cracking; the bat has shown no signs of losing pop, no weird noises, etc., and the crack is about 3/4" and linear, not like some of the shark's tooth cracks I have seen from other people's bats. Still, I am concerned it won't pass a bat check. I'm leaning towards using it until it either breaks in a fashion that is unmistakable, or until an ump rejects it.

First of all, the only date that matters for a bat is the date of purchase.

If its what I think, its not paint (its not cracked either). I would really doubt at less than an inch, it wouldnt pass a bat check. BTW, maybe you should stop cleaning bats just because it has a ball mark or smudge. Would make other things less noticeable.

 

[Chance42]

First of all, the only date that matters for a bat is the date of purchase.

If its what I think, its not paint (its not cracked either). I would really doubt at less than an inch, it wouldnt pass a bat check. BTW, maybe you should stop cleaning bats just because it has a ball mark or smudge. Would make other things less noticeable.

Why wouldn't the manufacture date be relevant? So far, the other reports of Mako cracking that I've seen are overwhelmingly reporting the 10/13 batch. Perhaps there was a higher volume of bats produced in that batch and therefore more bats are being reported from it, or perhaps there really is a correlation to quality based on something different about the manufacturing process of that batch; I don't have any way of knowing for sure, but it is a potentially useful piece of information for other readers who might suffer from the same issue. Easton obviously thinks it is important to be able to track which batch a bat came from or they wouldn't put it on the bat.

At any rate, I'm not quite OCD enough to make bat cleaning a regular activity; however, in the last tournament my DD managed to connect with a ball on a hard hit in exactly the spot where coach had inked his initials on the ball, and his initials transferred perfectly onto the bat. I can handle normal wear marks on the bat, but those three letters in bright blue ink were really bugging me for some reason so I thought I'd try to get them off. That met with no success whatsoever, but I was curious about how much of the other markings would come off. More than I expected it turns out, just not the one I really wanted to get rid of.

 

[Coachw01]

I can handle normal wear marks on the bat, but those three letters in bright blue ink were really bugging me for some reason so I thought I'd try to get them off. That met with no success whatsoever, but I was curious about how much of the other markings would come off. More than I expected it turns out, just not the one I really wanted to get rid of.

Have you tried the 'magic eraser', if that doesn't work there is a cleaner I get from Dollar Tree called 'Awesome' that in my experience, removes just about anything and everything from anywhere. It is a chemical of course and I know sometimes companies can frown on that being used on bats but it's always worked for me and I've seen NO ill effects of using the stuff on the bats.

Like you, those letters on the bat would bother me too!!

 

[CoreSoftball20]

Why wouldn't the manufacture date be relevant? Easton obviously thinks it is important to be able to track which batch a bat came from or they wouldn't put it on the bat.

It is important to the manufacturer because they make thousands and need to make sure processes were followed or if something wasnt done or failed. Just like all products.

In the grand scheme, what matters most...that you can get a free bat if it breaks...yes or no? Are you not going to use a bat that you bought to hit just because it was made a certain date? If a bat is gonna fail, its going to no matter what. Are you going to be mad if you baby a bat because a certain batch was known to be less durable, and then the 13th month it breaks.

And cleaning is up to you. My comment was to make people think about it a little more before you do it. If you are going to shine a bat up every night after use. You are asking for things to stick out more.

 

[Chance42]

Have you tried the 'magic eraser', if that doesn't work there is a cleaner I get from Dollar Tree called 'Awesome' that in my experience, removes just about anything and everything from anywhere. It is a chemical of course and I know sometimes companies can frown on that being used on bats but it's always worked for me and I've seen NO ill effects of using the stuff on the bats.

Like you, those letters on the bat would bother me too!!

Thanks for the suggestion, I might give that a try! I also tried putting some Formula 409 on washcloth and spot-applying it just to the inked area, but it didn't even dim or smudge the ink at all. At this point, I may also just suck it up and live with it.

 

[moe]

magic eraser. I buy only used bats...live by it.