tape it or not?

I thought taping the barrel was to keep it from getting all marked up.

If you are planning on using it for hitting off the tee, soft toss, batting practice, then I would say tape it up. Back when I used to hit it seemed to help it last longer for practice, drills, etc.

If you are intending to use it in a cage and hit any type of rubber ball the I would recommend a composite bat. In fact, I'd recommend using a composite bat all winter long and save your new bat for the spring. JMHO!

The only reason we ever taped a bat was for a better grip --we didn't have batting gloves back then.

Never ever worried about hurting the bats "looks"--- the hits took care of that for us

TRhit,

I am talking about taping the barrel to make it last longer and to help it from breaking, as I could care less how the bat looks as long as it lasts.

get

I know full well what you are talking about-- read what I said

If you swing wood properly it wont break unless the wood is bad

getintoit

Coach B25 has good advice. If you are concerned about the life of a wood bat you might consider getting a composite such as the Demarini (sp) that will last longer then a regular wood bat but swings like a wood bat. I believe the Demarini model my son uses has a composite handle and maple wood barrel and is actually legal for many wood bat tournaments.

My son's connie mack teamate said the demarini bat with the maple barrel will last a long time w/o taping etc. It was his practice and game bat.

thanks for all the info

Getintoit,

I will just give you my opinion from my experience. My son has a bat contract with a company that makes Maple bats. They are professional grade bats that are some of the hardest bats I have ever seen. He takes a "ton" of swings in the cage in the off-season. The barrel of the bat after many swings will start to flake a bit and then eventually pieces start coming off.

He tapes the barrel of all of his cage bats. They last forever, but even longer when he tapes them.

O42

oriole,
it is a maple bat made by Mizuno. Its barrel is taped so this wont happen.
Thanks

TRHit,

The best hitters in the world break bats and I guarantee you they "swing wood properly." Everyone mis-hits a ball, no matter who you are.

Cameron Bat Company (Gloveman) makes a real nice composite bat as well. My kids loved them. They have a good feel and are balanced. There are several good bat companies out there. However, the wear and tear of wooden bats is expensive. I would venture to say that my team goes through 6 composite bats per year. Of course, we get 300+ swings in per player each and every day of our season. Wood just won't survive this.