Bat Care & Break-In
The following are tips and tricks to take care of your bat and make sure that you properly break it in for maximum performance. At the end of this post there are some illegal break in procedures that you should absolutely avoid. Some stores and websites offer to roll or shave a bat. We do not recommend this as both are illegal and can result in multiple issues for you.
BAT CARE
- Limit the bat to individual use.
- Do not use in temperatures below 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Do not store the bat in extremely hot or cold temperature areas. It takes about 4 hours for a bat to reach the temperature that it is in. You can use the bats in colder weather as long as they are stored in warm places.
- Do not use the bat to hit the dirt off of your metal cleats
- Use regulation leather covered baseballs and softballs. Avoid the dimpled yellow cage balls. It's best to keep an old bat or a cheap alloy to hit the cage balls.
- Do not hit waterlogged balls
- Routinely check your bat for any damage
- Rotate your bat 1/4 turn each swing to distribute the hitting surface evenly
BREAK IN
- Aluminum / Alloy bats do not require a break-in period. These bats are ''hot out of the wrapper'' and can be used in a game right away.
- Composite bats may require a break-in period. If you feel your bat is not at optimal performance out of the wrapper, we recommend about 50-100 swings either off of a tee or by soft toss with a 1/4 rotation of the barrel after each swing.
ILLEGAL BREAK IN PROCESSES
Both Shaving and Rolling bats are ILLEGAL. We do NOT recommend these as they will result in:
- Legal Action: If someone is injured while using an altered bat the owner of the bat, person in the batters box and person who altered the bat are liable for the outcome and can face charges for the damages.
- You void the Manufacturer Warranty
- Lessen the durability of your bat
- Rolling is the process of compressing a composite bat between two rollers to accelerate the break-in period.
- Shaving is the process of removing the bats end-cap and shaving the insides of the bat walls to make the bat walls thinner.