Two broken bats

[wild man]

I recently saw two bats break while umpiring. Both were white in color. both broke at the handle. The handle of these bats is not round but kind of a skeletal structure. Both hits were right out on the very end of the bat like they only hit half of the ball.
This kind of hit breaks wood bats also. Any one else seen this? And no I dont know what they were. I paid no attention to the brand. But the barrel was white the handle red.

 

[amanda_cake]

I am nearly sure it is a Demarini Vendatta. Actually, I had an excellent guess before I even clicked on this post. There have been a lot of issues with these bats breaking. What age group were you umping? They are very popular with the 10s and 12s around here, very lightweight.

 

[fastpitch91]

the description matches the Demarina vendetta

 

[SBDadSanDiego]

The need to ban these P.O.S bats.. I have seen 3 break myself, and it's not like I see a whole lot of kids using them either.
Obviously a VERY flawed design.

 

[Bishop]

One of the kids in our organization snapped a Vendetta this weekend too.

 

[amanda_cake]

I posted a thread a while back, saying I'd heard rumors of them being banned. In many rule books, the rails design is not technically allowed because all parts of the bat should be cylindrical. However, those were just rumors.

I have also heard that the first batch were weaker in the rails, where the bat tends to snap. Bats that were produced later were supposedly improved in this area.

 

[wild man]

I posted a thread a while back, saying I'd heard rumors of them being banned. In many rule books, the rails design is not technically allowed because all parts of the bat should be cylindrical. However, those were just rumors.

I have also heard that the first batch were weaker in the rails, where the bat tends to snap. Bats that were produced later were supposedly improved in this area.

They were 12 year olds. And after reading the LL rules again these bats could be illegal,acording to the wording.
The rule says: The bat must be a smooth ROUNDED stick made of wood or other material deemed legal and appropriate. So if I see these again I can disallow them.

 

[amanda_cake]

They were 12 year olds. And after reading the LL rules again these bats could be illegal,acording to the wording.
The rule says: The bat must be a smooth ROUNDED stick made of wood or other material deemed legal and appropriate. So if I see these again I can disallow them.

I don't know how all of that works, but they are approved by all associations right now, as far as I know. They are not on any banned bat list, as far as I know.

If you disallow them, be prepared for some hell to be raised by parents I'm sure. Even if they are dangerous, like a ticking time bomb waiting to snap in half!

My HS coach has one, I found one at an excellent sale price about six months ago. If it hadn't been so short, I would have considered talking my father into buying it. A lot of the girls like the bat, but the snapping in half/cracking issue makes it not worth it.

 

[Greenmonsters]

Its probable that the bats in question are DeMarini Vendettas. My DD broke one last fall in the "rails" section just above the grip. Talked to DeMarini customer service and they replaced it w/out issue. They stated that they switched the type of resin used to fabricate the handle after numerous breakage issues. I'm not aware that there is a durability issue after they switched materials. The ones breaking now may be leftover early batches - how you can tell the difference I don't know.

FWIW, I highly doubt that DeMarini would be making bats that don't conform to the standards of the major sanctioning organizations. Check the barrel for the applicable stamps before you make a determination regarding legality. FYI - the -12 Vendetta is on LL's list of approved bats.

GM

 

[obbay]

The rule says: The bat must be a smooth ROUNDED stick made of wood or other material deemed legal and appropriate.

Be careful Blue, Rounded does not mean the same as round
Also, if they have in fact, addressed the deficiency that caused the bats to break, the bat- breaking phenomenon should peter out and there should be no reason to ban the bat. But how can one tell?