Does a bat really "go dead"?

DD has a 2015 LXT. We bought it last fall for $100 new in wrapper. It had been sitting on a shelf unsold at one of the indoor batting cages we go to. she had the identical 1" shorter bat and loved it so we couldn't pass up the deal. She has used this bat exclusively for the last year. In cold weather less than 40 degrees, check....dimple balls in the cage, check. I admit I wasn't too worried about it because we got it so cheap I told her have at it. SO fast forward to now, she's still using this bat. It has held up. No cracks or rattles or anything like that. BUT recently her hits have been pretty lackluster. She's a good hitter. Batted 4th last season. Always gets the bat on the ball, usually in a gap somewhere on the grass 15-20 feet from the fence. These last few games she's played, the ball literally is like a line drive right over to the second baseman or the shortstop. When the ball comes off the bat the ball almost looks like it's moving in slow motion, like it's suspended in the air, like the bat almost slowed it down for lack of a better explanation. There is nothing wrong with her swing, she still sees her hitting coach every week, he sees nothing off. When he does toss to her, tossing her meatballs, the ball does't even make it to the end of the cage. It looks like a nice line drive at first then about 10 feet from the net at the back it literally dies in the air LOL. She's getting super frustrated and is asking for a different bat. I keep telling her to try her teammates bats and see if its her or the bat. Maybe it's her? She's not doing anything different than she was when she was hitting triples in August. SO I told her I'd ask if a bat really does die eventually. If it's a real thing maybe she has a new 33/23 in her future.
thanks for any input

Bat's definitely get less hot. Take it yourself and hit fly balls with it and then do same with another bat that seems/sounds hot and you'll feel the difference yourself, if there is one.

good suggestion. we have a 2017 LXT as well. it's my younger DD's and 2" shorter, but maybe we can do some sort of comparison. When my younger, smaller DD swings the new LXT, even mishits go further than what her older sister is getting on line drives. Something is off

My DD has the same bat, 2015 LXT 32/22. She has used it for two years now and I'm not seeing any noticeable decline in performance. She's in her 2nd year of 14U and she uses the bat for everything (BP, games, cages, dimple balls, etc).

With that said, I'm planning to get her a new one after the fall before HS ball. I'm thinking after two years of hard use, there has to be some performance lost in the bat.

Now just trying to decide between 2016 or 2017, LXT or Xeno.....

I'm not a big believer of bats "going dead" (obviously I could be very wrong about that), but I do believe that if my DD THINKS that the bat has died, then it is time for a change. Once they lose confidence in a bat, it is tough to get it back. At least in my experience.

I have not witnessed any of the LS bats "dying" (unless they're broken) but I have seen it with Makos and CF7s.

I think my DD's Mako should be placed in Hospice. ;-(

Tatonka said:

I think my DD's Mako should be placed in Hospice. ;-(

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Did it start going down hill, or did it never have the pop you expected? DD's Mako never performed as well as old bat. Old bat still gives her better pop, and it's a 2014.

Tatonka said:

I think my DD's Mako should be placed in Hospice. ;-(

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Its funny you guys say this about the Makos. There are 3 girls with Makos on DD's team , different year models, and all have twice the pop as DD's LXT at the moment. so picture that

KneeHighSocks said:

good suggestion. we have a 2017 LXT as well. it's my younger DD's and 2" shorter, but maybe we can do some sort of comparison. When my younger, smaller DD swings the new LXT, even mishits go further than what her older sister is getting on line drives. Something is off

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just thought I'd update that I tried comparing the two bats. I can't . the new 2017 LXT is different, Makes a totally different sound with hits...different feel, etc.

I don't notice anything glaringly wrong with the 2015. The hits were ok, felt fine. Maybe it's just getting old. She has also grown a lot since she first started using it and could probably go up and inch in length on a bat. not sure if that makes any difference in the quality of her hits either.