Bat Rolling

[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

[MikeStrybel]

Okay, I admit that I spent way too much time looking online for bat rolling online. After a couple hours of looking at vendor sites, YouTube and reading up on the issue, it is pretty clear that detecting it is almost impossible. Basically, the bat rolling machines squeeze the resin that interlocks the composite fibers enough that they weaken. This creates a trampoline effect and a few sites show huge differences in exit speed and restitution. The bat manufacturers know that composite bats break down over time and make their bats 'less hot' when new, so that they will comply after a hundred hits or so. I found a couple associations that have banned composite bats altogether due to how they react when broken in. The new baseball equipment magazines are out and Junior's new toys cost $300 or so. Roll 'em and add another $75, void the warranty and speed up the process of it finally breaking down completely. Nice.

[Steven Tyler]

Originally Posted by MikeStrybel

Okay, I admit that I spent way too much time looking online for bat rolling online. After a couple hours of looking at vendor sites, YouTube and reading up on the issue, it is pretty clear that detecting it is almost impossible. Basically, the bat rolling machines squeeze the resin that interlocks the composite fibers enough that they weaken. This creates a trampoline effect and a few sites show huge differences in exit speed and restitution. The bat manufacturers know that composite bats break down over time and make their bats 'less hot' when new, so that they will comply after a hundred hits or so. I found a couple associations that have banned composite bats altogether due to how they react when broken in. The new baseball equipment magazines are out and Junior's new toys cost $300 or so. Roll 'em and add another $75, void the warranty and speed up the process of it finally breaking down completely. Nice.

$75.00 just to roll a bat! Hell, you should be able to get one machined and rolled for about that price.

Just hit off a tee. That will break them in faster.

[kylejt]

One more thing. Some companies dumbed down their BESR bats to BBCOR by inserting a metal ring, to truss up the insides. Rolling those will probably eff them up, and not produce the desired results.

Again, I don't know if rolled bats are considered altered, or not. I've felt rolled bats before, and you can feel the facets, ever so slight, but they're there.

Me, I'm worried about the end caps being removed. That either means a shaved bat, or one that the ring has been removed. Now that's an altered bat.

[Rich Ives]

If you think rolling a bat isn't altering it you've come under the influence of a mind altering substance.

[Steven Tyler]

Originally Posted by kylejt

One more thing. Some companies dumbed down their BESR bats to BBCOR by inserting a metal ring, to truss up the insides. Rolling those will probably eff them up, and not produce the desired results.

Again, I don't know if rolled bats are considered altered, or not. I've felt rolled bats before, and you can feel the facets, ever so slight, but they're there.

Me, I'm worried about the end caps being removed. That either means a shaved bat, or one that the ring has been removed. Now that's an altered bat.

Seriously?

I've felt and looked at bats I know are rolled and shaved, and I couldn't tell the difference from one to the other. They can take those end caps off, and you cannot tell if they've been off or not.