Bat Sharing????

[mogsoftball]

Back a few years ago when we were still in rec I bought two cheaper composites and all the girls shared them.

We played a few teams last year in travel where the team shared 3 or 4 bats among all the girls.

 

[cmustangsfp]

TBH, I can't imagine there is that much advantage for a doctored bat at 12u. Maybe a mens softball league where they are launching 280-300 foot+ bombs, but not 11/12 yo girls. And maybe I'm just too trusting, but I would never imagine anyone going through the trouble to do this at 12u. I've been around relatively high level travel for a few years now and have never once spoken to anyone who has admitted to me that they have doctored a bat (not that I ask) so I'd guess if someone actually did that, it would be a secret and an entire team wouldn't know it was doctored.

It goes on in 8U. Some parents look for ANY advantage for their kids.

 

[CPSBDad]

Xenos through the different models each sound different. I know because DD has owned them all but the black and blue one. Maybe it's the coach who insist that they use the one bat because it is a hot bat.

About the sound. The first Xeno out sounded more like breaking pottery. The blue and white less so, and the purple sounds nothing like the others--almost like a composite with out the disk. I'd be curious to know what model/year that bat was.

 

[CoreSoftball20]

Thanks for all the replies. I know girls at a young age will share here or there. That is when one kids says, hey do you mind if I try your bat. But for the ENTIRE BATTING ORDER to warm up with their own bat, then swing this one Xeno. Especially when the height range on the team is everything between 4' and 5' tall. My reference to the hollow sounds was two fold. YES the S1iD technology give their bats a different sound. But also, composite bats have a deep thump sounds when hit hard. It does not sound hollow. I am positive we have competed against altered bats but there is really no way to find out other than to scale it. Most manufacturers make the bat 1 oz more than the actual weight. If it is at or below weight that would seem obvious. But no one checks in 12U TB. I have seen HS and MS umps line em up and check everything to the best of their ability. I can see those who are not of means to buy this type of equipment however, I have never seen an entire team do it. We have some players who are not of the means to buy a new $300 bat every year. But we all put out heads together to find the players a "deal" on an overstock or older model or even a players old bat that still has some life to it.

Incorrect, not all comp bats have a deep thump sound. Also, not every manufacturer makes the bats 1oz over weight. Thats called lack of quality control. People will spin it other ways to make it sound like something better, but it is what it is. Scaling a bat wont do anything. If you think this way about bats, you will be wrong more than right and cry wolf for no reason.

 

[CoreSoftball20]

My other question for the poster is...Do you know for sure it was one bat? Was it out in the open all the time? Could it have been 2 of the exact same bats with diff weights? Just wondering.

 

[02Crush]

To answer and keep the fun going....
@fastpitch they were ALL hitting really well. And yes at 12U it does make a big difference in reflex off of the bat. It is about speed not so much distance at this age.

@CPSBdad it was the latest greatest purple model.

@ coresoftball20 I will not disagree with you outright, although I will say in 7 years I have yet to here one that did not with exception of the 2011/12 Xeno models. Combat, Demarini, Easton, Louisville, Rip IT, Miken and more. All have sounded very similar. Varying deepness of sound but not light and hollow.
also, It was one bat. Players would use their own bat on deck, then drop it for a coach to pick up, then go out and pick up the bat the batter just used and bat with it. The bat did not leave the field until their half of the inning was up.

 

[CoreSoftball20]

If you are saying a bat has a lighter thump, you are proving my point. At that rate, it isn't a deep thump anymore, its a lighter sound. I know this sounds like its a little thing or beating a horse, but a lighter crack is way diff than a thump. I have sold and hit everything(and even had the privilege to see inside most of bats). The Combats have a completely diff sound than a LS. Combats and LS's are diff from Worth and Miken sounds. So while to most people its a thump, the sounds are diff. Also, a well used bat sounds diff from a newer bat for the most part.
Like I said, I'm not arguing with you or nitpicking about sounds, I'm just a bat freak and its my life...haha. Please don't take it that way. Things like this are hard to explain on a message board. If I took most people in a quiet cage and let them hear every bat, I would change most people's minds.

But honestly, you sound like you have your mind made up the bat was juiced. That is very apparent and who knows, could very well have been but nobody will ever know. I did state previously, I don't put anything past ANYBODY anymore from all the things I have seen. Its shows the sad state that I would not be shocked to here a team of young girls was swinging dirty.
Also, the new Xeno is a good bat. LS didn't bring this out to take a step back in performance from previous bats, only to improve durability.

 

[fastpitch]

To answer and keep the fun going....
@fastpitch they were ALL hitting really well. And yes at 12U it does make a big difference in reflex off of the bat. It is about speed not so much distance at this age.

@CPSBdad it was the latest greatest purple model.

@ coresoftball20 I will not disagree with you outright, although I will say in 7 years I have yet to here one that did not with exception of the 2011/12 Xeno models. Combat, Demarini, Easton, Louisville, Rip IT, Miken and more. All have sounded very similar. Varying deepness of sound but not light and hollow.
also, It was one bat. Players would use their own bat on deck, then drop it for a coach to pick up, then go out and pick up the bat the batter just used and bat with it. The bat did not leave the field until their half of the inning was up.

Hitting really well still needs good contact and a good swing. I could give a doctored bat to every girl on some teams and it wouldn't matter. If they dont have a good swing and make good contact the doctored bat will do very little.

 

[petricca413]

My high school hitters who use Xenos definitely have a little more pop. However, the 2013 model was flawed. The bat actually broke in half on three separate occasions with three different hitters. Louisville Slugger was good about replacing the bats, but it was a hassle for the hitters and their parents. The 2012 model (black) was one of the first Xenos to gain popularity. I still use one in my lesssons and really like it. Sometimes, you can find this bat on-line or even slightly used.

My college hitters typically use the bat their team has a sponsorship deal with. The hitters who are forced to use a bat other than a Xeno don't seem to mind the change. At some point, if you can hit, the bat won't make that much difference.

 

[CoreSoftball20]

I believe Louisville went above and beyond to make up for the hassle of the product design issue.