How Many Bats in the Bag?

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May 29, 2015
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Next will be the helmets. Then facemasks?? Saw where high school catchers in baseball are going to have to have tested chest protection. I believe evoshield is marketing something. Will they have to pull their shirt up and show the umpire?

Not next. Already.

We have to check bats for proper stamping and damage (intentional and unintentional). This is my issue. There is no information beyond the rulebook saying “cracks, dents, rattles, and burrs” as far as what constitutes a damaged bat. The bat manufacturers won’t provide anything. We beat this point into the ground here a few months ago.

Then we have to check batting helmets for the NOCSAE stamp and for damage (cracks). We have to check the face mask to ensure if it is secure, not missing any screws, and ensure it also has the NOCSAE stamp. (Those inked stamps that rubbed off technically make the helmet illegal.)

Then we have to check the catcher’s helmet for teh NOCSAE stamp and to ensure the face mask is secure, no screws missing, and no damage to the helmet (straps duct taped, etc.).

The only reason we are not checking fielders’ masks is because there is no standard for them. (Another issue we beat to death here earlier this year.)

Starting this year NFHS Baseball will be requiring new catcher’s chest protectors to also have the NOCSAE stamp on it, so that is something we will be watching for as well.

So ... every game (conservatively):
48 bats
24 batting helmets
24 batting helmet face masks
4 catcher’s helmets
 
Jan 5, 2018
385
63
PNW
Not next. Already.



So ... every game (conservatively):
48 bats
24 batting helmets
24 batting helmet face masks
4 catcher’s helmets

MIB I hear you....we played USA exclusively last year. And depending on tournament and even umpires game to game was equipment checked. One time we played 3 games Back to back to back. Umpires checked the first game, didn't check the second game, checked the 3rd game. go figure.....

Only time we saw consistency was at Western Nationals. And as much as it was a pain in the rear....the bat check in process was nice because every bat was checked prior to games. Although the team in front of us had a issue for a moment. A player had a demarini (I think). The "inspector" wasn't going to allow it because of something to do with the cap. The "inspector" next to him didn't know if it was ok or not...they had a college player helping and she looked at it and said "That's the way that bat is made, everyone that has that bat on our team looks like that...". Bat as then approved (met compression test). So even with inspection that young lady could have had a legal bat not allowed if it weren't for a knowledgeable assistant. All that to say...not an easy task.

I agree it should not be on the umpires but I do appreciate the effort they do put in to do things correctly.
 
Apr 28, 2019
1,423
83
Two identical bats. Because dd swings a bat that I can’t go to any old sporting goods store and buy one if she breaks it. For years, both dd’s often had one bat, and it was their cold weather, practice, machine ball, game bat. Oh No! Dimple balls! The HUMANITY! DID HE REALLY JUST SAY THAT? BUT THE WARRANTY!!! 50 DEGREES!!!!

Bats are sticks designed to hit hard objects moving at high velocity. They break sometimes. Yet they are hardly as fragile as everyone makes them out to be. You bought it so your kid will have the best chance to succeed. It doesn’t do her any good in the bag. Let it rip.

If/when dd swung -10’s, she always had one bat. If I got a chance to add a replacement bat that was identical, I did it. But honestly, even with 2 identical bats, what I see is players using one bat all the time because they “like” one bat more than the others.

It gives me absolute FITS to see a kid practice or warm up with a different size/weight/style bat.

People, your kid needs to adjust to the pitcher. Don’t do it with the bat. Its the wrong mindset. And it comes from the parent. Think about the message you are sending! “Suzy that pitcher is SO GOOD that you don’t have a prayer unless you switch to a bat you can swing faster”.

When you buy a bat, first of all, buy the right size for RIGHT NOW. Buy it with a Visa/MC that automatically doubles the manufacturer warranty. Put the receipt for the bat and the credit card statement for that purchase in a big Manila envelope with all of the important papers that you keep in that special safe place. Hit it like you stole it. She might break it. The world will not end.
💩👎
 
Oct 3, 2011
3,478
113
Right Here For Now
DD has 3 but only carries 2 now. She needed to get her swing straightened around again after recovering from her injury. She was swinging the 2020 Qpro 34/25 end-load. She loved it but still felt it was too light. She has since moved back to her 2018 34/26 Ghosts once her swing speed got back up to where it should be. One for practice and one for games.
 
May 29, 2015
3,731
113
So even with inspection that young lady could have had a legal bat not allowed if it weren't for a knowledgeable assistant. All that to say...not an easy task.

I agree it should not be on the umpires but I do appreciate the effort they do put in to do things correctly.

Or maybe an illegal bat got by because that “knowledgeable assistant” wasn't so knowledgeable. I don’t know, I didn’t see the bat, but it emphasizes my point: no training.

I did bat checks for a USA National this year. They taught us how to use the compression tester. Well, they showed us how to use the compression tester. Nobody really explained it. They didn’t ask us to do anything else either.
 
Dec 5, 2017
514
63
DD is 10 and carries 2. Her cf9 and a Bustos for cold weather/ dimpled cage balls. She did use her cf9 in the first game of our last tourney this fall and the game time starting temp was about 35. First at bat was an inside the park homer so I guess it was worth the "risk". She wanted to carry the PC I bought for her but it's in the closet at home waiting for her to grow some, she really likes it and I would bet a paycheck she would use it if I let her keep it in her bag.
 
Dec 11, 2010
4,713
113
DD only uses a different bat for cage because dimple balls are different, and a composite bat does only have a certain number of hits before it will start to deaden. I wish I could afford two identical bats each time she moves up, just not financially possible. so for dimple balls in cage, it is a different bat. otherwise, only if too cold for composite does she use something else. and I do not buy a bat unless it is for all sanctions, period, so I know she will never have an illegal bat (might get tossed if crack or other defect detected, but that is all).

I’m actually saying financially you might be better off having one bat for games, practice and dimple balls. (Note about dimple balls: I’m talking good condition, replaced regularly, don’t get wet, kept inside where its Always 60 plus degrees.)

I personally don’t believe all bats are slowly getting worse. Not all agree. DD in particular hates a new bat and says they are better when the barrel “softens up”.

I have one hitter in particular that hits basically every other day. She hits the same 2016 LXT for everything. Bought it used from a team mate last spring. That bat is absolute fire. She plays for an org that won a division of PGF nats last year and just got done traveling a crazy fall sched with a bat that looks like it was dragged behind a truck.

We are moving her up an inch this winter or she would keep hitting that bat.
 
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Dec 11, 2010
4,713
113
The type of ball really isn’t what breaks bats.

DD played for an org that used high quality leather game balls in a Hack Attack. They ran an indoor cage drill where they had the machine turned up basically as fast as it would go and still hit the zone. (BTW, I hate that drill. Nothing good comes from it.)

For some reason, that station was an absolute bat DESTROYER. That org had culture of using Demarini which I consider to be a durable bat. I don’t know how many Big D bats they broke, like per session.

My best guess is the bat destruction was due to poor contact, the players did not handle that drill well and I ***think*** they were hitting balls off the joint.

DD used her gamer Ghost and never had any problem with damage.

My point is that the superstitions surrounding bats aren’t always based in fact and often aren’t necessary.
 
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May 6, 2015
2,397
113
I’m actually saying financially you might be better off having one bat for games, practice and dimple balls. (Note about dimple balls: I’m talking good condition, replaced regularly, don’t get wet, kept inside where its Always 60 plus degrees.)

I personally don’t believe all bats are slowly getting worse. Not all agree. DD in particular hates a new bat and says they are better when the barrel “softens up”.

I have one hitter in particular that hits basically every other day. She hits the same 2016 LXT for everything. Bought it used from a team mate last spring. That bat is absolute fire. She plays for an org that won a division of PGF nats last year and just got done traveling a crazy fall sched with a bat that looks like it was dragged behind a truck.

We are moving her up an inch this winter or she would keep hitting that bat.

no bats were bought specifically for cage work, just the bats she has accumulated as she has progressed. so no financial burden to keep using an old bat for cage work.

and bats yes can get hotter as they get used, but a composite bat WILL eventually deaden too. it might take some time, but it will happen. think of it as a curve.
 

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