Bat Rolling

[MikeStrybel]

My 11 year old son plays travel ball and they are already doing cage work. We use a facility near my house and the boys are all showing off their new bats and prowess. Last night, I received this message, forwarded from the facility through the coach.

ALL HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL BATS MUST BE
BBCOR CERTIFIED NOW!!

New Rules/Logo
There is a high school bat performance rule change going into effect January 1, 2012. The NFHSA (National Federation of State High School Associations) has adopted a new high school bat standard, requiring that aluminum and composite baseball bats meet BBCOR certification standards and display a BBCOR-certified logo. The new regulation aims to maintain wood bat-like performance in non-wood bats. All bats previously used for high school play will no longer be legal when this rule takes effect.

What Does This Mean?
You must purchase a new bat for the upcoming season that is BBCOR certified. These new bats are "dead" compared to your old composite or aluminum bat. It will take over 500 swings from live hitting to restore that "trampoline" effect you see from your old bat and there still will be "dead" spots. In order to restore your competitive edge you need to have the bat Rolled, so you can swing something "HOT" again!

How Will Rolling My Bat Help Me?
Rolling your bat ensures that it is HOT and the bat is hitting at its maximum potential. Rolling uniformly breaks in your bat and removes any dead spots to give you a larger and more consistent sweet spot. On average a bat rolled out of the package sees a maximum distance improvement of 20-40 feet and at least a 5 mph increase in ball exit speed! Make sure you're swinging the HOTTEST bat around by getting it rolled! New or used BBCOR bats can be rolled.

Is Rolling My Bat Legal?
Rolling your bat is perfectly legal and it does not void your warranty! It even makes it last longer by softening the fibers inside to create a trampoline effect that makes it HOT and protects the bat from cracking! Rolling does not add or take away from anything from the bat and only breaks it in meaning it is completely legal.

Now, I know that it isn't shaving or loading a bat but this is the first time I've seen this done around here. Maybe in other areas of the country it is more popular. It seems to fly in the face of deadening the bats for safety and I wonder if any associations have banned this practice. Have you done this to your bat(s)? Seen it make a difference? Removed bats because they have been altered?

My kid is a pitcher and I hate the idea of a hot bat being employed while he is just 50 feet away. But I recognize that with each rule change coaches will try to find a way around them. Personally, this sounds like a bad idea waiting for something awful to happen all in the name of the long ball. Thoughts?

[kylejt]

BBCOR testing actually takes composite bats, rolls them repeatedly until failure, and tests them along the way. If, at any point, they perform over the set limit, they fail. So these bats are "safe", if they're only rolled. You'll see the term ABI, or advanced break in, and that's what this means.

Ah, but the question is, are they considered altered? I've heard both sides of this arguement, but nothing authoritative.

Composite bats have a certain life cycle. They start out like bricks, loosen up over time and use, then go dead. Rolling will get you nearer the end of the cycle, where performance is highest. Also understand that it's that much closer to death.

If you ask any manufacturor, they'll tell you putting your bat in a vise will indeed void the warranty, so these guys are liars. Just on that statement alone, I wouldn't trust them.

[mbyron]

1. Coaches trying to get an edge? I'm shocked, shocked!
2. Bat rollers using deceptive advertising? I'm shocked, shocked!

[CT1]

It will take over 500 swings from live hitting to restore that "trampoline" effect you see from your old bat ...

I'd think that taking the "over 500 swings" might actually make you a better player!

[MikeStrybel]

Since there's no convenient way to test if a bat has been rolled, i.e. altered from its original design, this bodes badly for the BBCOR initiative. I watched a couple videos online about the process and it looks like if done badly, the bat will have a flat spot - $250 down the drain for Junior. I've tossed bats with flat spots from games before but this coming high school season we won't inspect bats and coaches know it. This should be interesting.

[nopachunts]

I imagine that if more than one player is swinging the same "HOT" bat, we will be asked to inspect it before the game is over. JMO

[asdf]

Originally Posted by MikeStrybel

. Personally, this sounds like a bad idea waiting for something awful to happen all in the name of the long ball. Thoughts?

So, how long did it take you to advise said cheater (oka...coach) that you are removing your son from the team and want all monies paid to this point refunded?

[MikeStrybel]

Originally Posted by asdf

So, how long did it take you to advise said cheater (oka...coach) that you are removing your son from the team and want all monies paid to this point refunded?

While I don't like the notion of rolling a bat, it isn't cheating as long as it doesn't flatten the bat.

There are a number of companies out there which sell bats that are 'pre hit'. In other words, you pay them to hit a few hundred baseballs in order to stress the resin in your composite bat. The bat becomes livelier while still conforming to BBCOR standards. A new, rolled bat is simply much deader and players/coaches know it. They have found a way to speed up the process of making the bat ready to go. It also shortens the life of the bat but that is hardly a concern to most. It still makes me shake me head to see a kid open his bag and pull out almost a $1,000 worth of bats. My son will break in his bats the old fashioned way. My arm will be plenty sore from throwing his batting practice but its the price I pay for wanting him to be ethical and talented.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

[Steven Tyler]

Some bats are hotter out of the wrapper, and some take a lot to break in. Rolling a bat doesn't really weaken the structure of a bat. I've seen some of the composite carbon fiber bats break after about 50 swings. They should come with a one year warranty depending on who and where you obtained the bat from.

It's always just the luck of the draw.

[MikeStrybel]

Originally Posted by Steven Tyler

Some bats are hotter out of the wrapper, and some take a lot to break in. Rolling a bat doesn't really weaken the structure of a bat. I've seen some of the composite carbon fiber bats break after about 50 swings. They should come with a one year warranty depending on who and where you obtained the bat from.

It's always just the luck of the draw.

Happy Thanksgiving, Steven.

I checked a few manufacturer sites and all state that bat rolling will void the warranty. This seems to be a bigger issue in softball, Miken and Worth both state that it weakens the bat so the warranty is void. As I said in my OP, I have never encountered this issue in baseball until the training facility near us offered the service. It appears to be just another way to gain an advantage without doing the work.