rolled bats

Good post about rolled bats on www.collegebaseballrivals.com. You can google "rolled bats" and view a U-tube video on how bats are rolled. There has been debate in the college ranks about the benefits of rolled bats. It's all very interesting.

I don't think it's cheating unless specifically banned by a sanctioning body. From what I have read it's simply a technique for breaking in a composite bat quicker and more evenly. I don't know how anyone could determine if a bat had been rolled.

Could be it's all BS too and a money grab by the rolling folks.

Not to be confused with shaving or honing an aluminum bat. That's definatly cheating and illegal.

Seems like there would be "rolling stations" at every tournament if it were legal. Anyone work at a bat company...I'd like to hear their thoughts...voiding warranty etc...and why they haven't promoted it or down played it.
Thanks for your thoughts.

quote:

Originally posted by cball:
I don't think it's cheating unless specifically banned by a sanctioning body. From what I have read it's simply a technique for breaking in a composite bat quicker and more evenly. I don't know how anyone could determine if a bat had been rolled.

Could be it's all BS too and a money grab by the rolling folks.

Not to be confused with shaving or honing an aluminum bat. That's definatly cheating and illegal.

Having seen a rolled bat, I can tell you that from the cursory glance, I could not tell that anything had been done to the bat....

I was told that rolling can cut down on the overall life of a bat by 25-30%......thats a significant amount of lost life on a $300 bat,

The rolling factor does not concern me as much as the shaving.

Yet to shave a bat they first roll it....

Is it illegal..??......there are rules about using altered bats.....but that would be up to interpretation...

Bat shaving however is cheating 100%..........

Here is a disclaimer from a bat shaving site.....

Disclaimer
Shaved bats should only be used in home run derbies, tournaments where there are no bat restrictions and anywhere it is legal for such bats to be used. Shaved bats should not and cannot be used in sanctioned league play and tournaments where bats are certified to stay under a certain performance level or anywhere it is illegal. All customers must sign a Shaving release form agreeing that they will not use the shaved bats in sanctioned league play, tournaments or anywhere it is illegal.

Illegal and potentially deadly....

quote:

I was told that rolling can cut down on the overall life of a bat by 25-30%......thats a significant amount of lost life on a $300 bat,

Funny the guys that advertise rolling services say it will prolong the life which I could not get my mind around.
Just bought son's first composite and we're just doing it the old fashioned way, hitting alot of BP with it, turning it slightly every cut. I will say it seems to have more pop after a few weeks break in than it did out of the box.

One of son's friends that plays @ a D1 college was told by the bat rep to drive his truck over his new composite bat to break it in faster!! I guess if you don't pay for your bats you could try it. Supposedly the same as having it rolled.

Like this?

The bottom line on bat rolling is it alters the BPF or BESR rating beyond the legal limit. As a parent how would you feel if the illegal bat your son used badly injured or killed a pitcher or conrner infielder. My son play third. If he got crushed by a line drive I'd have the bat confiscated and check. If illegal I'd sue the opposing team, coach and parents and bat rolling company for everything that could be taken from them.

However, the bat rolling companies waive their liability by insisting their service is for hitting exhibitions only. What the customer does with the bat is their own business. I'd rather a parent soup their kid up on steroids. Then they're only threatening the health of their own kid.

quote:

Originally posted by CaBB:
One of son's friends that plays @ a D1 college was told by the bat rep to drive his truck over his new composite bat to break it in faster!! I guess if you don't pay for your bats you could try it. Supposedly the same as having it rolled.

Anything you do to exceed BESR and BPF is 100% illegal.

I bet bat rolling is big in men's softball leagues. In the geezer league, I've seen some old farts who can't even make it to first base hit tape measure shots. I've only heard of bat rolling within the past year so it got me thinking where some of these teams get their power from. Hitting with a composite is dangerous enough. Last year, I hit a shot to SS that put him in the hospital with a busted up nose (it was ugly)and I only used a DeMarini single wall bat and it wasn't even a composite. Also last year, playing 1B, I took a bad hop off the wrist and the ball deflected off my wrist and continued on to the RF fence. Can't say if it was composite but the guy who hit it was no 25 yr old spring chicken and he smoked the ball. Luckily, I only got a bruise and continued to play. The torn hamstring I got running down a flyball a couple games later put me out for a while though.

Son's friend did not follow the reps advice and drive over the new bat (to my knowledge). If collegebaseballrivals.com posters can be believed this is going on alot.

Sad but true that this is going on in sports.It definitely is cheating in my eyes.The problem is it would be hard to prove that a bat has been rolled.Most high end bats,whether they be composite or aluminum,get "hotter" as they break in.Out of the wrapper they may meet BPF specs but as they break in they may exceed it just from normal use.How could you determine that the bat did not exceed the BPF rating from normal use or from rolling.

Shaving is another issue all in itself.

I've allways taught my children that if you had to lie,cheat or steal to win...why would you want to win?Such things like honor and intergity seems to have been lost though the generations.---Sad.

Thanks Sugi - that kind of hits the nail on the head. If you have to hide doing it...more than likely you shouldn't be doing it.

Check www.collegebaseball.rivals.com again. New post on bat rolling. Letter from the NCAA to bat companies stating composite bats may be banned @ the college level. At least lots of people are talking about it now. Whether any thing is done remains to be seen.

They're not talking anymore, it is a done deal. composite bats are banned for now.

JC coach just informed team the composite bats are now banned at the JC level.

quote:

Originally posted by FL 2016:
New member - great site. Over 1 year enjoying posts.
Just trying to gleen as much information as possible.
I have not seen, used or held a "rolled" bat.
However - now that we are in all-stars, some accusations are out there...I have read as much as I can, just hoped I could hear some of your thoughts on the subject.

[QUOTE]1. Is it cheating?

I would say that you would get a different answer depending on who you asked. I would say no more than a lot of BP with it or hitting it against a tree.

quote:

2. Claim is that it speeds up the "breaking in" process...that would normally take 500 hits or so.
Has anyone used one and what is your experience.

Not with a baseball bat but I have with plenty of slow pitch bats. Many people are just now hearing about rolling but it has been around since the first composite bat.

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3.If it is cheating, how do you determine if a bat is rolled?

The only way you can tell is to x-ray it and even then its only a guess. If the bat look to evenly broken in then it will be deemed as rolled.

quote:

Originally posted by FL 2016:
Seems like there would be "rolling stations" at every tournament if it were legal. Anyone work at a bat company...I'd like to hear their thoughts...voiding warranty etc...and why they haven't promoted it or down played it.
Thanks for your thoughts.

I have seen them set up at slow pitch tournaments. Seen the rollers attached to the hitch on a truck.

quote:

Originally posted by piaa_ump:
The rolling factor does not concern me as much as the shaving.

Yet to shave a bat they first roll it....

Not exactly. You shave aluminum and roll composite. Now some have tried shaving composite but rolling it works better.

quote:

Originally posted by RJM:
Anything you do to exceed BESR and BPF is 100% illegal.

Well if that's the case then just simply hitting with a composite is illegal. I have no experience with it in baseball but some of the slow pitch bats I have swung start getting hotter within a few hits. Heck before we started rolling bats we would take them out of the wrapper and bang them against a telephone pole three or four times.

quote:

Originally posted by zombywoof:
I bet bat rolling is big in men's softball leagues. In the geezer league, I've seen some old farts who can't even make it to first base hit tape measure shots. I've only heard of bat rolling within the past year so it got me thinking where some of these teams get their power from. Hitting with a composite is dangerous enough. Last year, I hit a shot to SS that put him in the hospital with a busted up nose (it was ugly)and I only used a DeMarini single wall bat and it wasn't even a composite. Also last year, playing 1B, I took a bad hop off the wrist and the ball deflected off my wrist and continued on to the RF fence. Can't say if it was composite but the guy who hit it was no 25 yr old spring chicken and he smoked the ball. Luckily, I only got a bruise and continued to play. The torn hamstring I got running down a flyball a couple games later put me out for a while though.

It's probably worse than you imagine. Now I can't speak for everywhere but on most of the teams I have played on and at the majority of the tournaments I have played in over the past 15 years. I would say that over 90% of the bats were rolled, shaved, or my favorite someone took an illegal titanium bat and had it repainted. Just like in every tourney that the teams supply there own balls every ball thrown in has been cooked.

All this stuff maybe becoming new to baseball but it has been around slow pitch for a long time.

And by the way NO I do not condone altering bats or balls for any youth baseball or softball. Slow pitch is a different story.

Am I missing something? If your son has a composite bat and wants to break it in or "roll it", why not just take BP and hit? I mean 500 hits? C'mon, that's like 2 good days of off-season work to a serious baseball player.