38°f

Welcome to Discuss Fastpitch

Your FREE Account is waiting to the Best Softball Community on the Web.

May 15, 2016
926
18
I heard no one should be practicing softball outdoors below 38°F. My nutty DD wants to practice batting and fielding drills outdoors below that temperature. Anyone heard anything different?

Also, I thought I heard pitchers should not be practicing outdoors even close to that temperature.
 
May 16, 2016
1,024
113
Illinois
Never heard of either of those claims. I think someone is pulling your leg. There are all kinds of sports that take below 38 degrees, don't know why practicing softball would be any different. Nothing wrong with doing some fielding or pitching stuff, hitting on the other sounds painful if she wanted to hit real balls.
 

Chris Delorit

Member
Apr 24, 2016
343
28
Green Bay, WI
Which reminds me, why is it bad to use a composite bat when hitting the dimpled balls of a pitching machine.

Those have always been tough on thin-walled bats, whether it's aluminum (which can dent) or composite (which can crack). Those dimpled balls have quite a bit of mass, and are hard rubber. So, you have a weighted ball that will flatten out on contact. They simply don't ricochet off the bat like a polycore or hard softball. There's alot of energy that's absorbed into the bat. Composite bats (polymer fiber) are designed with tightly wound fiber, which provides strength and a trampoline effect. If used in the cold, there's a higher chance of cracking the bat. With prolonged use vs. dimpled balls, those fibers can eventually seperate and possibly cause weak spots along the barrel.

If you're DD hits off of the pitching machine alot, you could look for an older early 90's Easton solid-wall bat at Play-It-Again. Those were made to conquer a Dudley/dimpled ball. :D

Otherwise, have her use her sister's bat. ;)

Chris
 
Last edited:
Feb 17, 2014
7,152
113
Orlando, FL
The problem with the dimpled balls is they are porous and will retain water, increasing the mass. This is very common in outdoor commercial cages as the balls are in the elements rain or shine. Composite bats are designed to hit softballs weighing about 7 ounces. When the balls end up weighing more, sometimes much more bad things can happen.
 
Sep 29, 2010
1,082
83
Knoxville, TN
Those have always been tough on thin-walled bats, whether it's aluminum (which can dent) or composite (which can crack). Those dimpled balls have quite a bit of mass, and are hard rubber. So, you have a weighted ball that will flatten out on contact. They simply don't ricochet off the bat like a polycore or hard softball. There's alot of energy that's absorbed into the bat. Composite bats (polymer fiber) are designed with tightly wound fiber, which provides strength and a trampoline effect. If used in the cold, there's a higher chance of cracking the bat. With prolonged use vs. dimpled balls, those fibers can eventually seperate and possibly cause weak spots along the barrel.


If you're DD hits off of the pitching machine alot, you could look for an older early 90's Easton solid-wall bat at Play-It-Again. Those were made to conquer a Dudley/dimpled ball. :D

Otherwise, have her use her sister's bat. ;)

Chris
The one piece composite Easton Synergys from the mid 2000’s that were recently removed from USA/ASA approved list are a great option for cold weather bats. SCX24B, SCN1B and SCN8B can be had for $50 or less now.
 
May 14, 2015
493
43
Bismarck ND
The Anderson Rocketech is a great cold weather bat, and the frost glove is a great glove for pitchers. 38* is a many night occurrence for spring high school softball up here in ND.
 
Oct 11, 2010
8,337
113
Chicago, IL
38* is a many night occurrence for spring high school softball up here in ND.

I was going to mention that.

My DD, like quite a few DDs on board, have pitched when it has been snowing. If your DD might she should practice in cold weather at least a little bit.

If you live in California it would be silly to me to practice in cold weather unless you are going to some cold weather tourneys.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
42,830
Messages
679,474
Members
21,445
Latest member
Bmac81802
Top