Bat Performance Questions

I need some schooling on composite bats.

Using the same bat, a new Composite 34/24 in differing conditions.

Which will cause a bat to have more pop, a bat acclimated to a 50*F day or a bat in a 95*F day?
Which will cause a bat to have more pop? a bat fresh out of the wrapper or a bat with 500 hits on it or so?
When it comes to breaking a bat in, just rotate the bat while in hitting practice or hitting into a net? To spread out the hits on the barrel.
Does a composite bat peak out in performance at a certain average of hits, or does hold it's performance right up to failure?

Thank you

All my opinions, I am not an expert, but I am at a Holiday Inn Express right now waiting for todays games.

I think they have more pop in warmer conditions, I do know since bat warmers are no allowed , mine has broken more bats in cold conditions, and bat warmers are not allowed so I would think that is due to a performance enhancing by warming the bat.

Some are hotter out of the wrapper than others, but they will get better as the composite breaks up and the develop a bit of whip as the connection loosens a bit.

Yes rotate the bat, DO NOT HAVE IT ROLLED TO BREAK IT IN. Damages the bat causes straight line cracks. I have been know to hit them lightly on wooden poles or trees.

I feel like they do loose a little performance as they get older. That is why mine has identical cage and game bats.

Enjoy, Great Thread.

So some brands of bats are a little hotter than others right out of the wrapper, but with they get broke in, they are all about even?
For us, we play in temps that vary from 35* to 100*, to when it comes to cold temps we have no option but to use the bats in cold temps.

Bartow12, do your identical cage bats and game bats having different pop/performance?
I'm guessing the cage bat has many more hits on it than the game bat does.

The DD's last Xeno had great pop right up until it failed. Is that a fluke, or is that normal for them to hold their performance right up until they fail?
When I take them out for in/outfielding, and I hit the balls, I can tell the difference in pop from the 32/22, 33/23, 34/24 and 34/26 Xenos, but that is due to the varying weight and length characteristics. They all have about the same amount of hits on them.

The biggest difference I see is between the 33/23 and 34/24. The 34/24 really seems to have a lot more pop than the 33/23. Is that due to the 34/24's longer barrel having more flex or a bigger sweet spot or the weight difference or both? I'd like to compare a 33/23 and a 34/23 to compare. To see if the barrel length helps out vs. adding weight to the equation.

With regard to sweet spot, the cf8 drop 8 is advertised as a "concentrated sweet spot". Is that smaller than normal sweet spot, or enhanced sweet spot for added distance?

Slugger, we use a cage bat just to keep swings off the bats. As you said they do fail. MY DD just broke her game bat last weekend. See the thread on broken bat pics. It was hot right up to failure. She hit 2 out they game prior to the failure, and it failed on a 1 hop double to the fence. I feel they do get VERY, VERY hot as they get close to failure. Most everything we play outside of HS is similar to college, bats compressions are checked. I did have her cage bat tested 2 times and it failed both test and would have not been allow to be used, and yes it is very hot in the cage. If the compressions are too low it enhances the trampoline effect of the bat and the ball will leave the bat at greater than the allowed speed. It varies by organization I think.

By saying you can see a difference in the pop by length I would think that is due to the fact that she is getting bigger and stronger and face better harder pitching and that accounts for the pop.

Not sure what you are feeling when you hit infield. I would think there is no difference, but I am not sure, maybe in some long complicated equation it does. But I just do know. Any bat experts out there who do know I am also curious.

I feel some are hooter out of the wrapper. It is my experience that XENO's are hot from new to failure. But the Easton's she used to swing when she was younger took time to get hot, and a wobble at the connection, then they were hot for a while, then seemed to loose performance as they got more use. But never had an Easton fail unless it was below 50 degrees. we would change bat due to her feel that the Easton had lost its pop.

Good luck, find one she loves and stick with it. Hitting is a lot of mental and feel so she must have what she wants. Mine has been swinging a LS FP13X8 for almost 4 years now. LOVES them will not change. Getting hard to find bay HUGE $$$$$ for her new back up bat. Her Colleges problem now.

Bartow12, Thanks!
OK, bear with me here...I've built houses and hot rods.. (some mechanical knowledge)... but I need some schooling on bat compression...

In these tournaments where the bats are compression checked, if they fail, do you have a brand new bat waiting to be used?

The lower the compression number in lbs., the more pop it has?
Can you give me an numeric example of a compression test?
I read your thread on DFP about college banned bats, and I clicked on a link that showed some of the bats with a double asterisk **1400/1550 lb rating. What does this mean?

No you do not get a bat from them, they will usually take your bat and lock it up until your team is eliminated then give it back to you, they also will put a sticker on it that says it has failed. The sticker is removable. Lowe compression usually give bats more of a trampoline effect, more spring. CF 3 bats were famous for this and almost always fail compression. It is about the speed which a ball could potentially leave the bat. That is what they are checking for. The bats on the list with asterisk have been approved for different compressions. Not sure why maybe due to the composite used or another reason. I know my DD's bat is one of those and we carry that list with us at every event.

Not sure on numbers and how they come up with those, but I do know if your bat is below the allowed number it is disqualified.

I do not think the newer bats need to be broken in.

My understanding is that the manufactures use to produce bats that pasted their tests then got hotter and hotter. They have started testing bats after a break-in and banning bats that did this so it no longer makes sense for a manufacture to have anything but the maximum right out of the wrapper for the life of the bat.