rolled bats??

[RobD]

Bat rolling is cheating. Breaking it in by hitting a lot might or might not do the same thing, but it wouldn't be cheating. Again, the great majority of the youth fp hitters I see have horrific swings. Spending money on hot bats and rolling them is absurd for most youth hitters. Mechanics, approach, patterning and the like would be the low hanging fruit by a long shot.

I agree with the hitting part. Without good batting, there is no bat that will help. With proper batting, then yes composite bats will make a difference, rolled or not. Everyone has their own opinions on this subject, and thats easy to see with discussions on different boards, and how heated it can get. I myself have expressed my opinion on it, I just dont think it should be considered cheating based on what it does compared to just hitting balls. I guess we can agree to disagree on this one.

Rob

 

[RobD]

Rob,

I got my daughter her first composite bat 3 months ago (Demarini Phenix) and was thinking about having it rolled but decided against it. One of the main reasons was that rolling a bat, supposedly dramatically shortens the life of the bat. She doesn't like changing bats and hasn't in 3 years - so I'm hoping this bat will last her into high school and for what I paid I'm not getting her another one any time soon.

Originally I thought 500 to 1000 hits to breakin would take too long but it really didn't. I assume your daughter like mine would have to get use to a new bat, so we did alot of soft toss and tee (and occasionally the batting cage - which they say you should do with a composite). I think we did about 80-100 hits during each practice - it took couple weeks to break it in. Even without breakin I was shocked how fast the balls came off the bat.

So now my daughter has been using the composite for a few weeks now. Not sure if its the increased weight or being a composite or both but she can hit the fences now. Do I think rolling would help her get it over the fences? Probably but the real problem now I see is her swing needs to improve.

In the end I think you'll be happy enough with a composite bat that is not rolled.

Rob

I have a synergy cnt and a Demarini Phenix. My girls dont swing the Phenix as it is to heavy at this time. Yes, it is a good difference from the old, cheap aluminum bats we used before. I dont think that the girls get full benefit of of the composite bats yet as I dont think they swing hard enough to compress the composite material far enough to get the trampoline effect. Also, I have read that rolling actually increases bat use over taking hundred of hits on it. I should says increases amount of "broken in" hits.

Rob

 

[Coach-n-Dad]

You going overboard with all the lawyer and lawsuit talk means nothing at all to me. You could get 1,000 lawyers and you would prove nothing. If you dont like it, dont let your daughter play, to make sure nothing can happen. Injury is a risk you take anytime to play in any sport. Rolling a composite bat does nothing more than one broke in from hitting balls. You simply choose to ignore that and continue with your lawyer rants. My god, if she used a wood bat and got a sliver, you would whine about that to. My kids all play in 3 sports, and we know there is a risk of injury in any of them. I think pitchers should have to keep all of their pitches under 40 mph to, because piutches going to fast have a chance to hit someone and cause them injury. Heck, if it hits someone in the head it could severly injure them or kill them. Tell me, if a girl got hit and injured from a wood or aluminum bat, would you cry foul there to? Because it could happen to.

Rob

You are pretty funny rob.

If you think your DD needs the advantage of cheating, go for it.

As for my DD; she will stay in the circle as long as she enjoys it. I am comfortable knowing that 1) There are very few cheaters on the field and 2) When she hits one over the fence it is due to her hard work practicing mechanics.

 

[RobD]

Like I said, how can it be cheating when nothing more is done by rolling a bat tha
n by hitting softballs? If it is, then just using a composite bat should be considered cheating also. You just keep choosing to ignore that rolling does the same as hitting.

Rob

 

[CoachKevin]

Well RobD, I understand your argument, but in ASA's eye's rolling bats are considered as altering a bat so it's illegal, no if's and's, or but's. If it's illegal to do so, then yes rolling bats is cheating. We don't keep ignoring that hitting 100's of balls to break in a bat vs the advanced break-in does the same thing. ASA addresses the issue and it's illegal.....period!

 

[Cannonball]

Bat-rolling — Cheating? | The Composite Bats Blog
Here is one site and I found another that goes into details on this subject. ASA is now testing bats after they are rolled. I will try to find that web site that goes into the details on how the ASA is now ruling.

Second articles.
Bat Rolling - What Is Causing All The Discussion

Both of these articles are written by the same person. There was one sentence that caught my attention. It states that even a bat used 300-400 times can be rolled to make it perform better. Why, it suggest that people inefficiently break bats in by using them. Does anyone else find this suspicious. BTW, these articles are written by someone who sells bat rollers. It also says you can buy their device and then go to tournaments and roll bats for everyone else. My Wife is an insurance agent. I'm wondering what type of liability insurance you might need for that handly little business.

Edited to add:

I forgot to mention that rolling breaks down the glue and stretches the composite as they state in the article. However, it states that it will not affect the length of service of the bat. How is that possible?

Ralph here is your car tire. We've worn off a 1/4 of the rubber. It will not affect the length of service for your tire. LOL!

 

[SBFAMILY]

http://downloads.asasoftball.com/about/pdf/06_ASA_Bat_Doc_Court_Order_Release_Final.pdf

Cannonball. I only posted to explain bat rolling to those that don't understand what it is about. The above should be a good reason not to get caught doing it. I think it is cheating. But some organization outside of ASA do not have rules covering it.

 

[redhotcoach]

All of Easton's '09s have the new VCT visual composite technology. Which changes color in area that the bat has exceeded 98mph. That eleminates the possibility of rolling. It could really shorten the life of a bat also! As the bat is quote "no longer legal to play if discolored spots exceed 1" in diameter from use."

I would guess it will be a short amount of time before that is required of all bat manufactorers.

 

[jimginas]

Sad thing about this whole discussion is IF the girls KNOW they are rolling bats and that it is illegal per ASA rules and it's dangerous, then what are we teaching the girls about life lessons? Cheat, but don't get caught?
** I used to always talk about the etiquite in Softball and how the girls and coaches were so much better sportsmen then baseball and many other sports. I really enjoyed that the girls could play their hearts out and yet still be close friends and root for each other to do well. NOW we are moving to cheating and beyond competitive?? I certainly hope all our coaches move to just teaching the game and teaching life lessons that REALLY matter and watching our girls grow to be productive citizens that care about others and doing the right thing, ALWAYS.

 

[cshilt]

Sad thing about this whole discussion is IF the girls KNOW they are rolling bats and that it is illegal per ASA rules and it's dangerous, then what are we teaching the girls about life lessons? Cheat, but don't get caught?
** I used to always talk about the etiquite in Softball and how the girls and coaches were so much better sportsmen then baseball and many other sports. I really enjoyed that the girls could play their hearts out and yet still be close friends and root for each other to do well. NOW we are moving to cheating and beyond competitive?? I certainly hope all our coaches move to just teaching the game and teaching life lessons that REALLY matter and watching our girls grow to be productive citizens that care about others and doing the right thing, ALWAYS.

I like to believe that cheating in softball is a rarity and something espoused by overzealous coaches looking for glory in a $4 hunk of shiny plastic. I like to believe that the girls are, for the most part, good sportspeople who cheer for their friends. I hope I stay naive if I'm wrong.