Cage balls myth or fact?

jbooth · Jul 18, 2013

I keep hearing that batting cage balls will ruin good bats.

Is this still true, or is it a myth from when batting cage balls used to be like rocks. Now, almost all are soft.

Do the softer balls still hurt bats? Is it only certain types of bats?

How do they hurt the bat?

Thanks.

YOCOACH · Jul 18, 2013

I can tell you from personal experience that the dimpled balls become much harder as they age and get weathered in outdoot batting cages.. DD has managed to break her Demarini Mendoza and Bustos at the handle in outdoor cages. She has also managed to ruin an older RT (turned it into a triangle through denting) that we bought cheap for cage use in the outdoor cages. This year she has used her new RF in our TB indoor facilities with new dimpled balls as well as the soft-flites and has had no issues. We have also taken the machine, generator and balls to our outdoor field for some practices without issues We did have one girl with a new Bustos break her bat at the handle which I believe is a common failure point for those bats due to the light weight, the density of the balls and the speed of the balls. Other than that one failure, we have 11 other girls which used everything from a RF, RT, Easton Synge, Demarini CF5 insane and many other composites without a single problem. As Amy said in a different thread, there are dimpled balls, and then there are dimpled balls.

jbooth · Jul 18, 2013

YOCOACH said:
I can tell you from personal experience that the dimpled balls become much harder as they age and get weathered in outdoot batting cages.. DD has managed to break her Demarini Mendoza and Bustos at the handle in outdoor cages. She has also managed to ruin an older RT (turned it into a triangle through denting) that we bought cheap for cage use in the outdoor cages. This year she has used her new RF in our TB indoor facilities with new dimpled balls as well as the soft-flites and has had no issues. We have also taken the machine, generator and balls to our outdoor field for some practices without issues We did have one girl with a new Bustos break her bat at the handle which I believe is a common failure point for those bats due to the light weight, the density of the balls and the speed of the balls. Other than that one failure, we have 11 other girls which used everything from a RF, RT, Easton Synge, Demarini CF5 insane and many other composites without a single problem. As Amy said in a different thread, there are dimpled balls, and then there are dimpled balls.

I should have researched before I posted. Here is what is on the Easton website;

Can I use my EASTON bat in a cage?
You should not use your new bat in the batting cage. Batting Cage Balls are made of a more dense material than is used in a regulation Baseball or Softball and will cause denting. Bat failure due to use in a batting cage is very obvious and is not covered by the manufacturer's warranty. Bat sleeves, such as 'Tuff-Sleeve' may be of some protection but will not guarantee complete protection.

Here's from the Anderson site;

Do not use your Anderson high-performance bat in batting cages with cage balls. Cage balls are not typically regulation balls, and their increased hardness/compression may damage your high-performance bat. In addition, the use of bat "sleeves" in cages with cage balls may not protect your high-performance bat. Cage balls will void your warranty.

Do not hit other than regulation balls with your high-performance Anderson bat. Do not hit softballs which exceed 525 lbs compression.

From DeMarini site;

No, batting cages can be especially hard on any bat. Extended periods of use with your bat are not advisable and will reduce the life of your high-performance equipment.

However, I still have a question. They state;

Batting Cage Balls are made of a more dense material than is used in a regulation Baseball or Softball

Cage balls are not typically regulation balls, and their increased hardness/compression may damage your high-performance bat

How can the soft dimpled balls that I can squeeze, be more dense/hard than a real ball?

Are they just covering their butts, or does it really matter? Is it because you hit hundreds of balls in the cage and only a few in games? Does the cage use just wear it out, or is it really the balls?

Greenmonsters · Jul 18, 2013

No worries if you can squeeze the ball. I'm only familiar with the ones you can't squeeze. Of those, some are fine, while others will definitely damage a bat - I can't tell the difference until its too late.

IMO, every bat will fail after a certain number of impacts. In addition to potentially harder balls, manufacturers discourage cage use because the hits add up quickly. In another thread, FFS indicated that he'd had problems with RTs after 3 months use and estimated something like 10,000 swings. I don't expect to get near that many swings out of a bat.

mogsoftball · Jul 19, 2013

Not sure what dimple balls you have thatare soft enough to squeeze, all the ones around here are rock solid. we don't use composites with those.

the softies we use on our manual feed pitching machine are fine though.

FiveFrameSwing · Jul 19, 2013

We use composite bats in cages with dimple balls all the time. Issues have been far and few between.

coach james · Jul 19, 2013

I own my own cage with about 5 dozen balls. However only 3 dozen balls are new while the other 2 dozen are used and approx 5-6 years old. Last week my ac shows me his older aluminum easton stealth. Its ruined! The cage balls destroyed it. My advise to my players and their parents now is: go buy a cheap bat from Walmart that is the same weight and length as your game bat. Better safe than sorry with your $300 composite!

2ddsplayingball · Jul 19, 2013

If you have your own cage, then use regular balls.

rdbass · Jul 19, 2013

2ddsplayingball said:
If you have your own cage, then use regular balls.

I use real softballs all the time. They say not good for the wheel?

sb03dad · Jul 19, 2013

rdbass said:
I use real softballs all the time. They say not good for the wheel?

I was told the wheel was not good for the stitching on the ball.

Cage balls myth or fact?

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