rolled bats??

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Apr 27, 2009
11
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I have been hearing alot of talk lately about rolling fastpitch bats. I think i understand the process, and the theory behind it. It appears to be a good way to break in your bat quickly, but i could be wrong. Is it legal and if so, does it work??
 
May 7, 2008
8,506
48
Tucson
No, it is illegal and is cheating. Search here under Softballfans.com. They will hand you your head for even inquiring about it.

I would be too scared of being liable (if I injured a girl), to even try it.
 

Cannonball

Ex "Expert"
Feb 25, 2009
4,854
113
My daughter has been hit in the face twice while pitching and now wears protection. This weekend, she hit a girl and we were all scared. There is absolutely no place to roll bats. It is dangerous and, if prove, might result in a huge lawsuit.
 
May 18, 2009
1,314
38
If a girl gets hit and injured I believe the league has the right to take the bat and investigate it. They will cut it open and determine if it's been tampered with. If so then the player gets a life time ban from the sport. That's what I've heard anyway.

If no tampering is found the league will replace the bat.
 
Jul 19, 2008
122
0
I have done my share of reading up on rolling bats, what it does, etc. Normally it takes a couple hundred hits using a composite bat to break it in, and to get its full potential out of them. Rolling a bat does nothing more than hitting a couple hundred balls does, it just breaks the bat in right away. Same as hitting with it, rolling puts pressure on the bat, causing micro fractures in the composite material, giving it the "trampoline" effect, making it more active right away. Hitting softballs does the same thing, just takes longer. It makes it no more dangerous than breaking it in during batting practice. It does not alter the bat anymore than batting practice either. There are tons of arguments on if it is legal or not. I know you can not alter a bat, which rolling does not do. I do not agree that it is cheating eiother since you arent adding anything to the bat or taking anything from it, such as shaving it. You will get a ton of opinions on this subject. I guarantee there are alot of rolled bats out there. You wouldnt be able to tell the difference from them or the bats broken in from batting. This is a pretty hotly discussed subject on message boards to. Everyone has their own arguments about it. My opinion is, I dont think it is bad if someone rolls their bat, since it does not change the composition of the bat and since it does nothing more than batting practice, hitting a couple hundred balls does. Now shaving a bat to change it physically and give it alot more juice than it normally could be, that I dont agree with and would be against it.

Rob
 
Jun 22, 2008
3,731
113
If it isnt illegal, then why did ASA develop a non destructive tester last year to check for rolled bats? Prior to the development of the machine the only way to test the bat was to destroy it. My understanding is that several bats were tested and confiscated at last years ASA Gold nationals.
 
Mar 19, 2009
56
0
I have done my share of reading up on rolling bats, what it does, etc. Normally it takes a couple hundred hits using a composite bat to break it in, and to get its full potential out of them. Rolling a bat does nothing more than hitting a couple hundred balls does, it just breaks the bat in right away. Same as hitting with it, rolling puts pressure on the bat, causing micro fractures in the composite material, giving it the "trampoline" effect, making it more active right away. Hitting softballs does the same thing, just takes longer. It makes it no more dangerous than breaking it in during batting practice. It does not alter the bat anymore than batting practice either. There are tons of arguments on if it is legal or not. I know you can not alter a bat, which rolling does not do. I do not agree that it is cheating eiother since you arent adding anything to the bat or taking anything from it, such as shaving it. You will get a ton of opinions on this subject. I guarantee there are alot of rolled bats out there. You wouldnt be able to tell the difference from them or the bats broken in from batting. This is a pretty hotly discussed subject on message boards to. Everyone has their own arguments about it. My opinion is, I dont think it is bad if someone rolls their bat, since it does not change the composition of the bat and since it does nothing more than batting practice, hitting a couple hundred balls does. Now shaving a bat to change it physically and give it alot more juice than it normally could be, that I dont agree with and would be against it.

Rob

ASA refers to it as Advanced Break in Technology (ABT) and it is illegal. Somewhere on the web is a good explanation from ASA on bat tampering.

Several years back when Eteamz was about the only fastpitch message board, one of the posters was Nate who worked for Anderson Bat Company (Rockettech). Althought they didn't have a composite fastpitch bat, they did manufacture one labeled for slow pitch. They took the very bat that had just passed ASA testing, 98mph and aggressivly rolled the bat in the testing facility parking lot. They then test hit and measured exit speed, the bat did break within 50 hits, but the exit speed jumped to 105mph. A very significant increase.
 

redhotcoach

Out on good behavior
May 8, 2009
4,706
38
For '09 a bat that goes over 98 mph at anytime in it's bat life it is illegal, per ASA. So pre break in bats will be starting at 80 mph or less. Bat manufacturers are talking metal sleve inserts to stop the composites from popping. Older bats are grandfathered in until 2012, just search for an older scn...... scn1b's are starting around $400, scn5b's are close to $600.
 

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