quote:
Originally posted by piaa_ump:
Rolled bats are illegal.....bats that have been altered are illegal under fed rules 1-3-5 and 7-4-1a.
and if you need any more proof, I have copied a disclaimer from a bat rolling site and posted it below....
This Bat Shaving Order Form and Release will be enforced and interpreted according the laws of
the State of Arizona.
Signature: _____________________________ Date:_________________
Print Name:_____________________________
Just to be clear, the form you posted concerns shaving, not rolling. Two totally separate issues. Shaving a bat means material has physically been removed from the inside. That is most decidedly altering a bat. Technically, rolling a bat simply accelerates the break-in process and is part of the natural design of the bat.
That being said, the rule mentioned above is why the NCAA decided to ban composite bats all together. Rolled or broken in "naturally", composite bats get "hotter" than the BESR rating they leave the factory with and that is the problem. There is no way you can distinguish a rolled bat from a "naturally" broken in bat, nor could you prove a bat had been rolled vs broken in by hitting. Eliminate the bat and that issue goes away, which is exactly what the NCAA did.
The ethical issue is totally different. I think there are a lot of people who will justify rolling bats due to the issues I stated above but at the end of the day, they are teaching their kid that cheating is OK and it isn't. Sooner or later, they are going to have to learn to hit with a bat that evens the playing field and the sooner they learn, the better off they will be. Ever watch a kid launching missiles off a composite bat struggle to hit a ball 250 feet with wood? I wish HS would follow suite TODAY and ban the composite bats as well.
It is my understand that in 2012, the BESR rating will no longer be used and all bats (including HS) will need to conform to the new rating, which again, as I understand it, is going to make the new bats hit just like wood.
My take on the issue is the rule is very clear and composite bats broke that rule in spirit from the get go, whether rolled or not.