2004 Rockettechs are $400, $500, and $600 on Ebay.

I am not sure that they are selling, but that is what they are listed for and there must be a dozen of them. One is listed as being pretty beat up and should only be used in the cages.

I have sold a few myself, but nothing near those prices.

My daughter used the original and it was fabulous, but she also owned the Rawlings Plasma and the Demarini Evo, both of which can be had for $40.00.

Since I don't have any kids of my own playing, are the girls wanting the 2004 RT? Or are people flocking to them thinking that all composites will soon be banned?

Highest one ended at $541 ... stated NEW. NIW 2004 32'' Anderson Rockettech Fastpitch Softball Bat.

Wow!

Next ones are $400 and down ...
I didn't check to see if new used ...

My DD uses a 32" 20 oz Rain ... she is 14.5 years old. Probably time for a heavier bat but hitting isn't very good and it isn't the bat ...

In New England a Rocket Tech is a good choice ...

Amy no I dont believe they are afraid of the ban on composites.... The 04/05R/T is the Vahalla of end loaded bats to the metal heads....... the 2 years are just Hot, production was changed in 06 to reduce the ball bat speed, the R/T was grandfathered in because it was metal not composite. between 4 and 6 for a NIW is pretty common . My dd has one left for High school next season before she goes off to college...........they are getting rare.

Tim

If I understand what ASA correctly, nothing is ever "grand-fathered". The only way for a 2004 certified bat to stay legal is for it to continue to comply with the 98 mph rule through random and periodic testing. The proof for this is that there are quite a few 2004 certified bats that are now on the banned list, due to subsequent non-compliance.

There is no doubt that the 2004 RT is a hot bat, but it was, and has always been, a 98 mph compliant bat. This is because the "hotness" of a bat is more than just its mph rating, it's also the size of the sweet spot, and the all important - but difficult to quantify - "feel", which is at least in part psychological. The RT doesn't rate any higher than countless other bats, yet girls can hit harder and farther with it than with similarly rated bats, or at least they or their parents are fully convinced that they can.

The same phenomenon can be seen in countless other sports equipment (and non sports-related products), where the popularity of certain models has attained mythical proportions. To use tennis as an example, the original Wilson Pro-Staff (St Vincent model) continues to enjoy a legendary status (and high fetch prices on eBay) to this day among gear-freaks of a certain age range due to its long association with the greats of the eighties and nineties (Edberg, Courier, Sampras, etc), and because it's been out of production for almost a quarter century (hence the dwindling supply), even though lighter and more powerful racquets abound (unlike softball, the sanctioning bodies of tennis have not seen fit to impose any performance cap on racquets - yet).

My dd uses an '08 RT and absolutely loves it. I have no reason to shop any further up the ladder.

In watching the WCWS and super regionals this yr, I took notice of the bats being used by several leading teams. I dont recall seeing any Rockettechs. Maybe I missed them? Tons of old stealths and synergys, a lot of new synergys, a few phenix, a few CF4, and AZ used that Nike bat Ive never seen anywhere else. some team used Mizuno bats i think too, But no significant number of RTs.

What does that tell me?

It tells you that Anderson doesn't sponsor any teams.

Also could be wrong but I think I heard somewhere that the 04 05 RT's were banned from NCAA play. What does that tell you about the later year RT's when people say they are all the same?

Amy...that is a correct statement!

Amy in AZ. said:

It tells you that Anderson doesn't sponsor any teams.

Click to expand...

I agree with you. But it also tells me they are no better than any other bat, and in the hands of strong hitters, the bat doesnt really matter so much anyway. If you can hit it 220' with an xyz, is there any value to hitting it 230' with an abc? Not really.

livingontheroad said:

I agree with you. But it also tells me they are no better than any other bat, and in the hands of strong hitters, the bat doesnt really matter so much anyway. If you can hit it 220' with an xyz, is there any value to hitting it 230' with an abc? Not really.

Click to expand...

Umm, yes, under 2 separate circumstances: specifically 1) the difference is significant if the fence is at 225 feet!; and, in general 2) as increased distance is the result of greater ball exit speed off the bat, higher exit speeds translate into groundballs and line drives that can get through the IF and OF gaps quicker i.e., the ball will be hit harder and there's less reaction time for the defensive players.

If you pick up a typical Anderson FP bat (Nanotek excepted), you'll likely notice that it feels heavier than its typical composite bretheren of the same length. My limited understanding is that Anderson bats are designed to distribute the weight in such fashion to make them swing 'lighter' (and therefore faster) than another bat of the same weight. And if you can swing a heavier bat the same speed as a lighter bat, f=ma says that the ball will go further. The Rocketech and Techzilla are considered -9 and -10 drops, respectively (i.e. RT 34"/25 oz, TZ 34"/24 oz, RT 33"/24 oz, TZ 33"/23 oz) but these are swing weights and less than what the bats actually weigh on a scale by up to 2.5 oz (depending on the model length).

All that said, a good hitter is a good hitter regardless of the bat in hand. Would I pay crazy $ for a used 2004/2005 RT? Nope, particularly when the design engineer/CEO believes that each subsequent design change has improved performance. In the interest of full disclosure, my DD swings a 34/24 Nanotek, 33/23 Techzilla, and CF3 33/23 depending on....who knows!

IJS - GM