Why Do You Have to Break in a New Bat?
Breaking in a new composite bat may seem like a hassle, but the effort you put into a break-in will pay off. Breaking in a new bat does a few things. First, it gets your bat ready for peak performance. When a composite bat is hot off the production line, the inner resin layer is still solid. By breaking up this layer, you’ll ensure that it’s as reactive as possible when you hit a ball. A more reactive bat means further hits.
Second, breaking in a new bat will mean a better life span for your bat. If you use a composite bat right off the line, you could stress the inner resin unevenly. This could lead to dead spots. You’ll know your bat has a dead spot if it hits inconsistently.
How Should I Break in My New Bat?
Now, you may be wondering how to break in a composite bat. There’s good news and bad news about how to break in your bat. The bad news is that’ll it’ll take about 200 swings before your bat is ready for a game. The good news is that it’s fairly easy to break in a new bat.
When breaking in your bat, avoid using non-regulation balls. Other types of balls may break up the resin inside the bat unevenly or even not break it at all. Once you have some baseballs ready, you’ll need to take things slow at first. Hit around 75 to 100 balls from a tee. As you take swings, turn the bat ¼ of an inch after every hit to make sure all sides of the bat get some use.
Next, you can move on to the next break-in phase. Move to batting at pitches around 40 miles an hour. You can use a real pitcher or a pitching machine, but try to keep the ball speed consistent on each throw. During this phase, only use half of your power while swinging. Continue until you hit the ball 75 times and make sure not to count mis-hits.
Finally, for the last hits to 200, swing at full power. During this time, pitch speed should still stay around 40 miles an hour. After this step, you’re finished with the break-in. Congratulations! Your slugger is ready for the big game.
Do
- Take your time – The best way to break in your composite bat is with a 3-step process. Start with 100 hits off of a tee. Then move on to another 50 hits of soft toss. Finally, take 50 hits against live pitching against a pitcher throwing at least 40 mph.
- Use a regulation ball – Make sure you use baseballs or softballs that you would hit in a game. Rubber balls used in batting cages do not have the same effect when breaking in your bat for play and can even damage your bat.
- Turn your bat after every swing – To ensure you are evenly breaking in your bat, turn the bat a quarter turn with every hit. Making sure every part of the barrel gets an equal amount of hits eliminates the chance of getting a dead spot in your bat.
- Ramp up the power – Start out hitting on a tee at about 50% power. Then move up to around 75% power halfway through. Once you start hitting soft lobs, start out at 75% power before moving to 100% halfway through. Finally, use 100% power against live pitching.
Don’t
- Break in your bat in cold weather – Never swing your composite bat in weather that is less than 70°. Playing in cold weather can damage your bat and increase the risk of denting.
- Count weak contact as hits – Only count a hit and rotate your bat after solid contact. If you hit the ball off the handle or hit a weak foul ball, don’t count that swing and try again.
- Roll your bat – Rolling your bat in a machine to create a greater trampoline effect is against the rules of competition. Not only is that bad news if you get caught, it can also shorten the lifespan of your bat and void the manufacturer’s warranty.
- Use your bat in a game before you break it in – Do not put a bat in play before you have gone through the process of breaking it in. It may seem like a long process, but the results are more than worth it.
What is Bat Rolling and Should I Do It?
Bat rolling is the process of compressing the composite fiber within a bat to achieve a quicker break-in. Bat rolling can also significantly increase your hit distance if done properly. So, you may be asking why exactly you would break a bat in the normal way if bat rolling is quicker and more effective.
You should avoid bat rolling because it’s banned in most leagues. It’s best to avoid bat rolling unless you’re only using your bat for fun. Besides being illegal in most leagues, bat rolling also shortens the life span of your bat. It’s better to avoid it all together because most leagues issue serious penalties if you’re caught.
Now That You Know…
Getting a proper break-in will ensure the longevity of your bat as well as make it more effective on the field. Before committing to a composite bat, you may want to get to know the different types of bats a little better. Learn more about the different types of bats in our bat buying guide.
Buying a new composite bat is an exciting experiencing and learning how to break in a softball bat is the first step to improving your game. A good bat can be the difference between a home run and an out. If you’re interested in getting high quality bats, check out our selection.
