Welcome to the world of wood bat baseball.  My son played several wood bat tourneys thru his 14-16U years.  Basically we decided that the expensive bats aren't worth it...especially in the cage.  Wood is wood and you can only hit 60' in the cage no matter what bat you're using.  His 17U summer (when coaches were coming to watch) we did break down and buy him a more expensive $109 wood bat...that he only used during games.  It held up thru 4 weekends of wood tourneys.

LOL wood bats...my 2017 played 13u and 14u never broke one, first weekend of 15u broke one and that was it for the year. Start of 16u summer he breaks 2 in the first game...he still has 3 summer weekends of wood, a part time legion season and all fall which is mostly if not all wood. So I  negotiate a deal with a high quality local bat co. for 6 at 80 bucks each a 25% discount. He doesn't break another bat the rest of the year...LOL he has 3 in his car and 3 more in his bedroom just in case!!

https://www.maxbats.com/specia...s-3-pack-package/108

Do you have a hammer, small nails and tape? Your broken bats need surgery. We use the SSK cage bats - NON-BREAKABLE.

BOB

Waffles&icecream posted:

After ordering my son an expensive wood bat that comes with a 50 hit guarantee. Waiting over 6 weeks to get this lethal (his words) HR inducing (his words) wooden work of art. He bypasses the pile of bp bats in the corner of the garage, waits for me to run some errands and proceeds to join his buddies to go to the only opened outside batting cages in the area and hit in rainy 40 degree weather. 5 pitchs in and off the handle and presto..... Great looking fire material. I come home to a stone faced kid that has seen a lot more better days. Have you ever heard of this stuff ??? I'm beyond disbelief at his logic. My friends are getting quite a chuckle over this. Me...... I'm cutting down on coffee and taking up a less stressful activity like putting my hand in a basket of rattlesnakes. 

It's always funny when it happens to someone else! 

You are lucky if you can get it to BE firewood.  I have to look at a corner of broken wooden bats!  This one I broke at the 10u wooden bat tournament, I have to keep that one, this one, gesh Mom don't you remember when I got the in the park homerun with this one, we can't just throw it away, and this one I broke in the BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH

THEY ARE FREAKING BROKEN PIECES OF WOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Son had a game at a minor league park last week..  I was standing in the gift shop to get warm. They had a barrel of broken bats they were selling...$ 20.00 each

to quote CACO3GIRL

"THEY ARE FREAKING BROKEN PIECES OF WOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Broken bat collection,,, Ideas!  Make a light out of the barreled wood.  you can buy a lamp kit at most DIY stores just gotta drill through the barrel.  For their car, you can cut the knob end of the bat for the stick shift knob.  For their hat rack, cut the knob end off at 90 degrees and make a hat rack with however many old bats they have.  Ceiling fan, you can use the knob for the pulling end.  With a collection of bats you could make a large wall clock either straight on the wall or on a large sheet of metal or wood, clock kits are easy to find.  If you only want to buy one wood bat, albeit more expensive, buy a BaumBat or mizuno Pro Maple wood bat with a composite handle.  Make sure they have BBCOR stamp.  If you buy the BaumBat, they are extrememly balance so you may want a drop 1 or 2 instead of a drop 3.

Welcome to the wood bat club.  My kids showcase team only hits with wood.  Doesn't who or where we are playing we use wood.  Over the years my kid has broken a few.  It's annoying when you invest in a more expensive bat only to throw it in the fire pit the week after you get it.   One bit of advice, make sure he is making contact with the ball with the label up.  The manufactures place the label on the weakest part of the bat and you want to make sure you are not contacting the ball on the label.  Run a google search on "bat label up" and you will find information.  Also, might want to consider "boning" the bat before use as well.  Most manufactures claim they bone the bats before shipping now a days, but doesn't hurt to do it again.  Boning the bat will press in the fibers and make it a little more dense.

 I love your sense of humor! been there, done that!

Took my daughter shopping a week or two ago and we stopped and bought my son the wood bat he'd been eyeing for weeks. She says "mom, didn't he get a wood bat last year?" "yes, it broke?" I answered.

"Well if he broke it, why are you buying him another one?" she asked.

The logic of a ballet dancer.

Joe; you need not "bone" a maple bat only ash. You can use a "coke bottle or a metal post at the backstop to bone the ash bat. Keep it clean and free of dust.

If a batter "feels" strong he may wish to turn the label toward the ground {Rod Carew], if he feels tired he will hit label up. It is mental, but it works.

Bob

<www.goodwillseries.org>

I used to get my son $75 bats for about $50 from a friend who owned a sporting goods store. My son typically broke two or three bats per summer.

He brought two bats to games. A teammate broke one. He broke one. He borrowed the most expensive bat in the rack. He broke a $150 bat.

My son asked for $150 to pay back his teammate. I told him he gets one new bat and $50 from me to pay back his teammate. I explained I didn't tell him to use a $150 bat. I suggested he chase down $50 from the teammate who broke his bat.

He had a 16u teammate known for breaking bats. No one would let him borrow bats. They named him Black & Decker for sawing off so many bats.

one place we played had a broken bat graveyard  with the broken bats shoved into the ground barrel up.  I think some of them had names and dates carved on them.

I guess other people do it too, found this pic.

joes87 posted:

One bit of advice, make sure he is making contact with the ball with the label up.  The manufactures place the label on the weakest part of the bat and you want to make sure you are not contacting the ball on the label.  Run a google search on "bat label up" and you will find information.  Also, might want to consider "boning" the bat before use as well.

Good advice for ash. Not necessary for maple, though google will find some strong opinions on this topic on both sides.

2018's first PG Showcase - broke his two wood bats on the first two pitches he sees in the first game, then broke a teammates bat in the second game. That after going through about 60 travel ball games with no problem. Good times. 

Same situation here,   son broke two bats at first wood bat showcase, one in each round of batting practice, broke 8 total last summer.  reinforced to him that he had some bad habits in his swing-   hoping this is fixed now!

I got so tired of son breaking bats, especially the more expensive ones he sometimes insisted on, I decided to repair those that were only cracked and and reinforced them.  Being a skilled woodworker (a hobby of mine) I glued the cracked bats together along with wood dowels I inserted through the cracked area.  Volah,  the bats were actually little strong and seemed to last a little longer, but eventually . . . they too got busted.

Truman posted:

I got so tired of son breaking bat, especially the more expensive one he sometimes insisted on, I decided to repair those that were only cracked and and reinforced them.  Being a skilled woodworker (a hobby of mine) I glued the cracked bats together along with wood dowels I inserted through the cracked area.  Volah,  the bats were actually little strong and seemed to last a little long, but eventually . . . they too got busted.

Is that legal?   And do you take orders ????? 

One of our Websters, Chris Flores,owns a bat company. OTW bat. Might want to check it out or ask for advice.

Iowamom23 posted:

Took my daughter shopping a week or two ago and we stopped and bought my son the wood bat he'd been eyeing for weeks. She says "mom, didn't he get a wood bat last year?" "yes, it broke?" I answered.

"Well if he broke it, why are you buying him another one?" she asked.

The logic of a ballet dancer.

Her shoes are probably so worn down that there isn't much fabric left of them! I deal with the dancers at our school... many of them are nuts! 

pabaseballdad posted:

Truman posted:

I got so tired of son breaking bat, especially the more expensive one he sometimes insisted on, I decided to repair those that were only cracked and and reinforced them.  Being a skilled woodworker (a hobby of mine) I glued the cracked bats together along with wood dowels I inserted through the cracked area.  Volah,  the bats were actually little strong and seemed to last a little long, but eventually . . . they too got busted.

Is that legal?   And do you take orders ????? 

I tried to find the answer to the legality at the time, but couldn't find anyone that knew one way or the other.  And I never felt a need to disclose this before the games since the bat was still all wood in the all wood games.  After I repaired the bats I painted them to look like the new one and no way to tell the bat was repaired unless one removed the paint . . . at least, not until one got cracked in the same place revealing the dowels.

Sure, I'll do orders . . . only $150 per bat (including shipping).   

RJM posted:

I used to get my son $75 bats for about $50 from a friend who owned a sporting goods store. My son typically broke two or three bats per summer.

He brought two bats to games. A teammate broke one. He broke one. He borrowed the most expensive bat in the rack. He broke a $150 bat.

My son asked for $150 to pay back his teammate. I told him he gets one new bat and $50 from me to pay back his teammate. I explained I didn't tell him to use a $150 bat. I suggested he chase down $50 from the teammate who broke his bat.

He had a 16u teammate known for breaking bats. No one would let him borrow bats. They named him Black & Decker for sawing off so many bats.

Wood bats are like underwear - not to be shared!

Truman posted:

pabaseballdad posted:

Truman posted:

I got so tired of son breaking bat, especially the more expensive one he sometimes insisted on, I decided to repair those that were only cracked and and reinforced them.  Being a skilled woodworker (a hobby of mine) I glued the cracked bats together along with wood dowels I inserted through the cracked area.  Volah,  the bats were actually little strong and seemed to last a little long, but eventually . . . they too got busted.

Is that legal?   And do you take orders ????? 

I tried to find the answer to the legality at the time, but couldn't find anyone that knew one way or the other.  And I never felt a need to disclose this before the games since the bat was still all wood in the all wood games.  After I repaired the bats I painted them to look like the new one and no way to tell the bat was repaired unless one removed the paint . . . at least, not until one got cracked in the same place revealing the dowels.

Sure, I'll do orders . . . only $150 per bat (including shipping).   

NFHS MIAA Handbook Rule 65.4 – BASEBALL BATS

NFHS Rule 1, Section 3

Article 2 (d) Bats that are not made of a single piece of wood shall meet the Batted Ball Coefficient of Restitution (BBCOR) performance standard, and such bats shall be labeled with a silkscreen or other permanent certification mark. No BBCOR label, sticker or decal will be accepted on any non‐wood bat. The certification mark shall be rectangular, a minimum of one inch on each side and located on the barrel of the bat in any contrasting color to read: “BBCOR .50.” Note: The NFHS has been advised that certain manufactures consider alternation, modification and “doctoring” of their bats to be unlawful and subject to civil and, under certain circumstances, criminal action.

Article 5 – Bats that are altered from the manufacturer’s original design and production, or that do not meet the rule specifications, are illegal (See 7/4/1a below). No artificial or intentional means shall be used to control the temperature of the bat. No foreign substance may be inserted into the bat. Bats that are broken, cracked or dented or that deface the ball, i.e., tear the ball, shall be removed without penalty. A bat that continually discolors the ball may be removed from the game with no penalty at the discretion of the umpire.

NFHS Rule 7, Section 4
Article 1 – A batter is also out as in above penalty or when:
a.
The batter enters the batter’s box with an illegal bat or is discovered having used an illegal bat. If the infraction is discovered before the next pitch following the turn at bat of the player who used an illegal bat, the defense may take the penalty or the result of the play.

Updated 3/26/13

Truman posted:

pabaseballdad posted:

Truman posted:

I got so tired of son breaking bat, especially the more expensive one he sometimes insisted on, I decided to repair those that were only cracked and and reinforced them.  Being a skilled woodworker (a hobby of mine) I glued the cracked bats together along with wood dowels I inserted through the cracked area.  Volah,  the bats were actually little strong and seemed to last a little long, but eventually . . . they too got busted.

Is that legal?   And do you take orders ????? 

I tried to find the answer to the legality at the time, but couldn't find anyone that knew one way or the other.  And I never felt a need to disclose this before the games since the bat was still all wood in the all wood games.  After I repaired the bats I painted them to look like the new one and no way to tell the bat was repaired unless one removed the paint . . . at least, not until one got cracked in the same place revealing the dowels.

Sure, I'll do orders . . . only $150 per bat (including shipping).   

I would guess the repair of the bat would in some way change it characteristics.  The seem caused by the glue along the break line along with the dowels would have to have an impact on the bat.  Not sure if it would be for the good or bad, but my guess is it would somehow alter the sweet spot as well as have some affect on the density of the wood.  This would either make the bat better, or worst.  Can't seem to work out in my mind which one. 

Some minor leagues are experimenting with the composite wood bats.  Seems to me this is the obvious solution. I know a lot of the wood bat tournaments mean just that - wood thru and thru. But this could all be solved by allowing the composites. My son uses his hitting in the cage. Carbon (or whatever it is) handle and wood (maple) barrel. And a rod running thru the center of the bat inside for durability. Performance of wood.  34" 32 1/2 oz.  lasts forever.  A lot of them even carry 6 month warranties.  

By the way is my son the only one who names all his bats?  This one is 'Mapeline'!  

Truman posted:

I got so tired of son breaking bats, especially the more expensive ones he sometimes insisted on, I decided to repair those that were only cracked and and reinforced them.  Being a skilled woodworker (a hobby of mine) I glued the cracked bats together along with wood dowels I inserted through the cracked area.  Volah,  the bats were actually little strong and seemed to last a little longer, but eventually . . . they too got busted.

I'm thinking this is illegal.....in a lot of ways....but in reality, if your son is a 14U player playing in a wood bat tourney, I'm not sure why anyone would care.  My son played in wood bat tourneys for 3 summers.  Almost every college coach my son ever talked to HATED THEM!!!   They see absolutely no good in recruiting kids based on seeing them using bats they will NEVER use in a college game.  My son was a pitcher and played SS all 3 summers.  Depending on whether he was pitching or batting determined whether or not he was happy that we were in a wood bat tourney....

CaCO3Girl posted:

Truman posted:

pabaseballdad posted:

Truman posted:

I got so tired of son breaking bat, especially the more expensive one he sometimes insisted on, I decided to repair those that were only cracked and and reinforced them.  Being a skilled woodworker (a hobby of mine) I glued the cracked bats together along with wood dowels I inserted through the cracked area.  Volah,  the bats were actually little strong and seemed to last a little long, but eventually . . . they too got busted.

Is that legal?   And do you take orders ????? 

I tried to find the answer to the legality at the time, but couldn't find anyone that knew one way or the other.  And I never felt a need to disclose this before the games since the bat was still all wood in the all wood games.  After I repaired the bats I painted them to look like the new one and no way to tell the bat was repaired unless one removed the paint . . . at least, not until one got cracked in the same place revealing the dowels.

Sure, I'll do orders . . . only $150 per bat (including shipping).   

NFHS MIAA Handbook Rule 65.4 – BASEBALL BATS

NFHS Rule 1, Section 3

Article 2 (d) Bats that are not made of a single piece of wood shall meet the Batted Ball Coefficient of Restitution (BBCOR) performance standard, and such bats shall be labeled with a silkscreen or other permanent certification mark. No BBCOR label, sticker or decal will be accepted on any non‐wood bat. The certification mark shall be rectangular, a minimum of one inch on each side and located on the barrel of the bat in any contrasting color to read: “BBCOR .50.” Note: The NFHS has been advised that certain manufactures consider alternation, modification and “doctoring” of their bats to be unlawful and subject to civil and, under certain circumstances, criminal action.

Article 5 – Bats that are altered from the manufacturer’s original design and production, or that do not meet the rule specifications, are illegal (See 7/4/1a below). No artificial or intentional means shall be used to control the temperature of the bat. No foreign substance may be inserted into the bat. Bats that are broken, cracked or dented or that deface the ball, i.e., tear the ball, shall be removed without penalty. A bat that continually discolors the ball may be removed from the game with no penalty at the discretion of the umpire.

NFHS Rule 7, Section 4
Article 1 – A batter is also out as in above penalty or when:
a.
The batter enters the batter’s box with an illegal bat or is discovered having used an illegal bat. If the infraction is discovered before the next pitch following the turn at bat of the player who used an illegal bat, the defense may take the penalty or the result of the play.

Updated 3/26/13

Thanks for that CaCO3Girl.  

Since this repair was wood on wood, no "foreign substance" was inserted (unless one considers the glue, which wouldn't even amount equal to how much pine tar often found on wood bats).  So, maybe they need a whole other section to define "foreign substance".    

Isn't lawyering fun?  

Lawyering is fun, and I play one often.  I believe the wooden inserts would fall under the "altered from the original manufacturs design or production" clause of the rule. 

joes87 posted:

Truman posted:

pabaseballdad posted:

Truman posted:

I got so tired of son breaking bat, especially the more expensive one he sometimes insisted on, I decided to repair those that were only cracked and and reinforced them.  Being a skilled woodworker (a hobby of mine) I glued the cracked bats together along with wood dowels I inserted through the cracked area.  Volah,  the bats were actually little strong and seemed to last a little long, but eventually . . . they too got busted.

Is that legal?   And do you take orders ????? 

I tried to find the answer to the legality at the time, but couldn't find anyone that knew one way or the other.  And I never felt a need to disclose this before the games since the bat was still all wood in the all wood games.  After I repaired the bats I painted them to look like the new one and no way to tell the bat was repaired unless one removed the paint . . . at least, not until one got cracked in the same place revealing the dowels.

Sure, I'll do orders . . . only $150 per bat (including shipping).   

I would guess the repair of the bat would in some way change it characteristics.  The seem caused by the glue along the break line along with the dowels would have to have an impact on the bat.  Not sure if it would be for the good or bad, but my guess is it would somehow alter the sweet spot as well as have some affect on the density of the wood.  This would either make the bat better, or worst.  Can't seem to work out in my mind which one. 

The only characteristics I estimate was changed in the repaired bats was the strength in flexibility of the bat below the barrel.  There wouldn't be any altering of the sweet spot as weight proportions did not change (or were not enough to hardly even be measurable).   Since the cracks/breaks in the bats were with the grain, the dowels were inserted perpendicular to the grain, which resist typical cracking along the grain.  The only change in performance in the bat would be the resistance to breaking along the grain.  And as I mentioned, the bat did eventually crack/break again, but didn't fly apart due to the dowels.

Being a long time skilled woodworker, I'm confident my assessment of the bat's physical properties is pretty accurate. 

I grew up in he era of pickup games on the playground. The only bats were wood bats. If we had a break it was to go home and eat while someone took the bat home, nailed it back together and duct taped over the break and the nails. Sometimes we duct taped the balls when the stitches ripped.

One time we needed a ball. The corner store (remember those) had baseballs for sale cheap. It lasted about an hour. When it started coming apart we discovered the core was Japanese newspaper.

I laugh when preteen dads ask if using two different bats or playing whiffle ball wil screw up their son's swing. If we could lift it and swing it, we played. There were times we were choking up on repaired 35's we got from the high school team after they broke.

Truman posted:

Thanks for that CaCO3Girl.  

Since this repair was wood on wood, no "foreign substance" was inserted (unless one considers the glue, which wouldn't even amount equal to how much pine tar often found on wood bats).  So, maybe they need a whole other section to define "foreign substance".    

Isn't lawyering fun?  

Your repaired bat no longer qualifies as "wood" (made from one solid piece of wood).

And it doesn't qualify as BBCOR because you did not submit it for BBCOR certification, and it doesn't have the BBCOR silkscreen.

I'm afraid your son's wood bat records are no longer valid.  

MidAtlanticDad posted:

Truman posted:

Thanks for that CaCO3Girl.  

Since this repair was wood on wood, no "foreign substance" was inserted (unless one considers the glue, which wouldn't even amount equal to how much pine tar often found on wood bats).  So, maybe they need a whole other section to define "foreign substance".    

Isn't lawyering fun?  

Your repaired bat no longer qualifies as "wood" (made from one solid piece of wood).

And it doesn't qualify as BBCOR because you did not submit it for BBCOR certification, and it doesn't have the BBCOR silkscreen.

I'm afraid your son's wood bat records are no longer valid.  

MidAtlanticDad posted:

Truman posted:

Thanks for that CaCO3Girl.  

Since this repair was wood on wood, no "foreign substance" was inserted (unless one considers the glue, which wouldn't even amount equal to how much pine tar often found on wood bats).  So, maybe they need a whole other section to define "foreign substance".    

Isn't lawyering fun?  

Your repaired bat no longer qualifies as "wood" (made from one solid piece of wood).

And it doesn't qualify as BBCOR because you did not submit it for BBCOR certification, and it doesn't have the BBCOR silkscreen.

I'm afraid your son's wood bat records are no longer valid.  

Guess we'd have to disqualify all those bats having tape, pine tar, paint and decals on them too, that way we can say they are "made from one solid piece of wood."     

Interesting, isn't it that wood laminate bats are allowed in wood bat tournaments.    They're certainly not made from one solid piece wood.  

Let's have hand carved Wonder Boy bats, no taped handle, no painted or varnished finish no decals (carvings are ok though).  

PS:

MLB Bat rules and Reg.

MLB ruling for a legal wood bat

1.10
(a) The bat shall be a smooth, round stick not more than 2.61 inches in diameter at the thickest part and not more than 42 inches in length. The bat shall be one piece of solid wood.

NOTE: No laminated or experimental bats shall be used in a professional game (either championship season or exhibition games) until the manufacturer has secured approval from the Rules Committee of his design and methods of manufacture.

(b) Cupped Bats. An indentation in the end of the bat up to one inch in depth is permitted and may be no wider than two inches and no less than one inch in diameter. The indentation must be curved with no foreign substance added.

(c) The bat handle, for not more than 18 inches from its end, may be covered or treated with any material or substance to improve the grip. Any such material or substance, which extends past the 18 inch limitation, shall cause the bat to be removed from the game.
NOTE: If the umpire discovers that the bat does not conform to (c) above until a time during or after which the bat has been used in play, it shall not be grounds for declaring the batter out, or ejected from the game.

(d) No colored bat may be used in a professional game unless approved by the Rules Committee.MLB Maple bat controversy

2016 Senior project - broken bats, cut to fit and repainted

While these are not pics of my little projects, they are very much like the coat/hat racks I made from son's broken bats as gifts to family who wanted something of son's for memorabilia.