We always get the new year Rocketech. The 2010 seems to have a bigger sweet spot. DD has hit some nice bombs in cage and live pitching. If you like an end load, in my opinion there is no better than RT.
Breaking-in a new bat
- Thread starter obbay
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absdad it is fun looking at bat warranties and what their intention is....for example "Anderson Anderson Bat Company, LLC (“ABC”), warrants to the original purchaser only, that the bat purchased (a) conforms to ABC’s specifications and (b) is free from defects of materials and workmanship. This warranty expires either (a) one year from the date of purchase or (b) after the end of the useful product life of the bat which is approximately 5,000 bat/ball impacts, whichever occurs sooner. If the original purchaser discovers within this period a failure of the bat to conform to ABC’s specifications or a defect in material or workmanship, the original purchaser must notify ABC promptly by calling ABC’s warranty department toll free at 888.777.4487 to obtain a “Return Authorization Number.” The original purchaser shall then send the bat together with the original receipt to ABC, shipping prepaid. For the mailing address, click here. The Return Authorization Number shall be conspicuously displayed on the outside of the shipping container. If ABC has received the bat and the original receipt and determines the bat has failed to conform to ABC’s specifications and/or there was a defect in materials or workmanship, ABC will promptly supply a replacement bat to the original purchaser.
ABC does not warrant any bat that has been (a) modified, (b) used in a batting cage, (c) used for a purpose other than for which it was designed, (d) used with balls exceeding 525 pounds of compression, (e) used in temperatures below 60 degrees Fahrenheit/15 degrees Celsius, (f) used as a "team bat" or (g) purchased through auction sites. Third party receipts, such as PayPal, Paypoint, etc., will not be accepted."
This is the first bat I recall that actually puts a limit to the number of impacts at 5,000 however most limit the temperature to 60 degrees. So common sense would say not to use it if the temperature was 59 degrees because there is no plus or minus either....just kidding however I thought it was funny that ASA would allow equipment to be used that would void the warranty and that could cause the product to break and possibly hurt someone knowing that the bat was being used on a day when the temperature was below 60 degrees.
They impose design standards on bats however on game days below 60 degrees the bats are no longer covered under warranty. Someone should check with the ACLU as this sounds like we bought a bat that can not function below 60 degrees without the chance of possibly hurting someone? If it voids the warranty could it hurt someone? Then if your kid is using it and say it breaks in half and it is 54 degrees is your kid responsible if someone gets hurt because you choose to use the bat knowing the temperature was under 60 degrees? This should be similar to a bad weather delay game and the umpire calls the game because the temperature dropped to 59 degrees! Could be a short season in Ohio for sure! Not many days above 50 in March or April around here.
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Hi Hitter,
Steve Anderson contributes often to the boards on heybucket. In one of his threads he actually explained the mechanical causes of the bats breaking at lower temperature. It was a very good post. The main point of the post was that based on material properties it is not necessarily the bat properties that were different under 60 deg but the ball characteristics (increase in stiffness/hardness at lower temperatures).
In the case of the bats from Anderson it is not the breaking of the bats they are concerned about but more about the denting.
Have a great day!
Michel
Steve Anderson contributes often to the boards on heybucket. In one of his threads he actually explained the mechanical causes of the bats breaking at lower temperature. It was a very good post. The main point of the post was that based on material properties it is not necessarily the bat properties that were different under 60 deg but the ball characteristics (increase in stiffness/hardness at lower temperatures).
In the case of the bats from Anderson it is not the breaking of the bats they are concerned about but more about the denting.
Have a great day!
Michel
- Sep 3, 2009
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Howard... Oh believe me, I've read those things! You can tell they were written by the legal dept. I know why they say those things, and understand the need for it. I know that it's probably not entirely likely that a composite bat will crack at <60* temps, or crack when hitting 5yo sun-baked dimple balls. But it does happen often enough, that the need to make those stipulations exists. If someone wants to hit 60' to the end of the cage with their Phenix, I'm happy for them. Alot of times, I see people who have ignored these warnings, complain about how horrible ABC brand bats are, because "they crack".
Poseidon.. I saw Steve's post on HB that you're talking about. Was certainly interesting to get a full down to earth dialogue on why, and not just legal mumbo jumbo from a warranty.
Poseidon.. I saw Steve's post on HB that you're talking about. Was certainly interesting to get a full down to earth dialogue on why, and not just legal mumbo jumbo from a warranty.
absdad...This really a good discussion and believe it or not one company claims you void the warranty if you hit telephone poles! Never mind the cage balls! Just thinking in the Midwest there are not to many days where the temperature is above 50 degrees in March or April so it makes the Walmart Special look even better at $59.95 and I can hit anything with it and throw it away and if it breaks and buy a few more compared to buying a $300 to $400 hundred dollar bat that potentially can be destroyed at 59 degrees because it changes the characteristics of the ball so much it can damage a bat! I have always felt hitting techniques make the ball go further and that for a 12 to 14 year old girl maybe add 20 feet to her batted ball distance.
So now if one of my girls can hit a 200 foot shot and did by the way, using a Walmart Bat that cost $59.95 plus tax it is the technique and not the bat and we got a deal plus a home run to boot!
The NCAA and ASA should really look into this, as for me it gives the pitcher an unfair advantage when the temp drops below 60 degrees and my bat that costs #300 to $400 dollars warranty is void. If the NCAA and ASA understand this and would play with equipment or allowed it to be used in less than a 60 degrees environment and lets say a bat dents and breaks and someone is injured then the umpire should have stopped the game if the temp was less than 60 degrees at game time and should stop the game if the temp drops just like a rain delay based on what I read. A good attorney may have a field day on this as most courts and those that serve on jury's have lost their common sense when it comes to awarding money. Just ask Louisville Slugger. If a parent can not see the risk in being a pitcher in baseball and is awarded a judgment for not knowing they have the potential to be hit and killed by a ball something is wrong with our system! If bats which many of the composite bats came from and that is the aerospace industry, where made to an aerospace standard there would be a plus of minus as to degrees involved. It would cost more for sure however there is a sucker, I mean parent, who thinks bat X will hit the ball out of the park by Suzy who has no clue how to even grip the bat! If the sweet spot ran the length of the entire bat some of these kids still could not hit it out of the park. This is why hand path is so critical to the hitters success in my opinion.
Bat warmers should be made legal based on what you are saying as it would keep the bats from breaking. Then we could change the color of the balls based on the given temperature as the game progresses! Now there is a solution change the ball to suite the temperature!
Yes knowing what you just said would make the ABC bat a fair weather bat and the composite the weapon of choice on any day below 60 as I have not experienced that happening to any of my kids bats and we have bunch of kids using composite bats.
Thanks Howard
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- Sep 3, 2009
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Percisely why my dd's cage bat is a $40 Demarini Nitress. Just a cheap aluminum bat, that's the same length and drop as her composite Phenix. Nothing fancy about it, it gets the job done. But neither of us will lose a wink in the Icerberg opener if an especially fast, fastball that's frozen like a stone, puts a dent in it.
We may be going WAAAYY off topic here, but I don't know if I'd want the orgs to start regulating equipment like that. Set the standards and stick with it. I can see an overzealous, litigious parent of a future ASU pitcher (aren't they all?), being concerned on those liners coming right back at the pitcher. I've real alot of stores like that, and the (Louisville Slugger lawsuit story you mentioned), rarely have I seen anyone mention anything about teaching the pitchers what to do in those situations. It always seems to be the bat manufacturer's fault, for making a product that people wanted. Who knows, another 20 years and our dd's will have to check in all composite bats at the tournament gates and show a current permit to be able to use it.
We have several bats that we have purchased over the past couple years and unfortuniately had to use the warranty on a couple of them. Anderson and Demarini and both were excellent to work with. The only complaint I had was that Demarini etched no return on the barrel of the replacement which could be a problem. On the lower temperature it is the ball not the bat. I was doing research on balls for this season and found an interesting write up on the effect temperature has on a ball and also recommended different bat types for different temperatures.
