Very interesting video.. It will give you a better understanding of why Bat Rolling works. Bat Rolling breaks down the resin that is binding the layers/fibers together. This gives you more flexing of the barrel and increased performance.
Please take a moment to choose what the best legal ASA Composite bat is.
Recently I attended the ASA Hooters National Championship and had some pretty good conversations with a number of people directly in the mix at the ASA headquarters. We spoke about a number of things including what the plans are in ASA regarding the 2010 bat performance standards. As you can image they are pretty tight lipped right now regarding what their plans are. The current standard was implemented in 2004. The current exit speed standard is 98 MPH and any bat that has the 2004 stamp on it must stay at or below this rating for it’s entire life. As I’m sure you know as composite bats get more and more hits on them or put through a Bat Rolling Machine the performance will most likely exceed the 98mph standard. During this years Hooters National Championships they had a bat compression testing device that was being used to make sure bats were below the 98 MPH standard. From what I could see, they tested the bat in 3-4 random locations along the length/diameter of the barrel in what appeared to be in very finite areas. I spoke to several teams out there and almost every one of them had at least one bat taken. These bats ranged from almost brand new to ones having 700+ hits on them. I’ve read that most people have some real questions about the validity of these results but that’s a whole other issue. The one thing that I know for sure is that Bat Rolling and Altering is definitely on the radar screen for ASA as well the other associations. During my conversations with some ASA people they claim that these machines will be at every World Series location next year and they also claim they can actually tell if a bat has been rolled by using the machine. When rolling your bat you are evenly breaking in the entire barrel. What that means is that you’ll have pretty consistent readings on the bat tested no matter where you are on the barrel. A bat with normal use will most likely have a wide range of readings across the length of the barrel. I found this interesting.
Back to the upcoming potential changes. As I mentioned, ASA will not comment on their plans for the 2010 and beyond seasons but due to contractual issues they are required to give the bat manufacturers time to react to any possible changes. The rumor is, ASA will be adopting a new 93 MPH rating and bats will not be able to exceed this rating (even after they are broken in). Easton has already released their “Reveal” series which I think is a precursor to things that are coming. These bats are rated at the 93 MPH rating and have technology that “supposedly” shows signs of altering. I know from many Bat Rolling companies that you can still roll them without any signs at all. BatRolling4u.com is one of them and they claim to have done many of these bats. Every manufacturer has bats currently being produced that will not meet this new standard. Back in 2004 when ASA adopted the current 98 MPH standard they gave manufacturers 2 years to comply with the new rating and they most likely will do the same for this new standard. These new potential changes make Bat Rolling an important step to getting your bat to perform. When rolling your bat, you’re gaining about 20-40ft of additional distance which equates to about 5 mph. The new proposed 93 MPH rating now makes sense. ASA knows it’s very difficult to stop the Bat Rolling so if they impose the new standard and you choose to roll your bat the new exit speed with not be more than the current standard of 98 MPH. It all makes sense if you look at it that way.
Bat Rolling companies are definitely going to see an increase in business should this new performance rating actually be implemented. These changes will also drive the price up of the 2004 approved bats because after the new rating is in place the manufacturers will not be able to make these bats any longer. A very similar thing happened when they put the 2004 rating in place and offered a 2 year grandfather clause. The price for the original Miken Freaks and Easton Synergy 2’s sky rocketed. I recommend you stay up to date on this new change. We’ll try and keep you up to date with any news that comes out. The next few months are going to be interesting.
This topic is one the REAL creates allot of different opinions and discussions. I’ll try to give you the all the facts and I’ll let you make your choice on what’s best. Bat rolling has been in existence since composite bats have been released into the marketplace. This was around 2000. Bat Rolling as we know it today started with people using homemade devices to accelerate the break in of their composite bats. People use rubber mattets on their bats, standard bench vices, clothes rollers, pipe benders at a local muffler shop are among some of the methods that were used in the beginning.
Sometime around 2002 the first bat rolling machines began to pop up on the internet and this was the beginning of our current bat rolling marketplace. All of the first bat rolling machines were of the Perpendicular style. This has been the most widely used method for bat rolling for many years. The reason is it provides the BEST overall results and put’s the least amount of stress on your bat. Click on the links below to see a detailed analysis of what the benefits and methods of bat rolling are.
Dr. Russell Study
L.V. Smith Paper
Both of these well know studies were done and clearly show the benefits of bat rolling. If you read through the studies there is mention of impact area of the bat and ball. Softball bats are designed to accept an impact of a softball in roughly a 1-2 inch area and the bats are designed to flex in this area. When using a perpendicular roller you are only applying compression in small area and as you feed the bat back and forth are you simply transferring this to a different location of the bat. This is as close to a normal impact as you can get without actually taking batting practice. When you roll a bat via the Parallel method you are applying compression of the barrel in a 6-7 inch area. It’s like hitting a basketball with your bat. The barrel is flexing in places and amounts it’s not designed to. This is putting greater amounts of stress on the barrel than it was designed to accept. As you can logically imagine this is not good for your bat.
You’re probably asking if this is the case then why are so many companies offering Parallel rolling? Well the answer is that most companies are just trying to make a quick buck and get your bat in and out as fast as possible. There are 2 well known companies on the internet that have been in business longer than anyone else (BatRolling4u and Worldshottestbats) They both offer Perpendicular Bat Rolling. Most of the other companies out there offer Parallel rolling because they have limited experience and don’t have nearly enough experience to give your the REAL story.
I ran across a company recently that claims they are rolling your bat first via the Perpendicular then via Parallel. They also say they were the first to offer this rolling. There is absolutely no benefit to rolling your bat any other way than Perpendicular and I challenge anyone to prove that there is any additional benefit. With all the research that has been done on the subject of advanced break in techniques you would see analysis on Parallel rolling if it in fact provided any additional benefits. The reason you don’t see this anywhere is because there is NO ADDITIONAL BENEFIT. It’s simply a sales pitch and by many Bat Rolling Service companies.
Today there are many options on who to choose to have your $300 bat rolled by. We understand this can be a big decision. We’ve been there before ourselves. Our best suggestion is to find a company that’s been in the business for at least 4 years. Companies that have been in business for at least 4 years have the experience and know how to get your bat rolled the correct way. Another consideration is the type of bat rolling they offer. You need to find a company that will primarily roll your bats with a perpendicular style roller. There are only 2 companies on the internet with at least 4 years of experience (BatRolling4u.com) is one of them. The Perpendicular roller was designed about 5 years ago and this type of roller most closely matches the impact area of a softball which is very important when it comes to Bat Rolling. This is important since composite and aluminum bats are designed to accept impact along the barrel in small sections. Parallel rollers put stress along a 6-7 inch area on the barrel of the bat. Bats are not designed to accept pressure in this fashion and you are simply putting too much stress on the barrel. If done incorrectly or if done in a fashion to properly break your bat in you will be shortenly the life of your bat substantially. This simply will not happen when using a perpendicular bat rolling machine with the correct techiques.
When the Parallel roller was designed a few years back the main selling point was that it shortened the time it takes to roll your bat. All of a sudden now those that are offering Parallel Rolling Services claim that it’s the best way to do it. Like I said ealier, companies with 4+ years experience most likely use a perpendicular bat rolling machine. In order to get your bat rolled properly DON’T go to someone looking to do it faster, look for someone who’s looking to roll your bat the right way. It takes 15-20 minutes per bat to roll it correctly. You CAN’T get a good roll from a parallel bat rolling machine or from someone looking to get your bat in and out in 5 mintues or less.
