How To Tell If Bat Is Dead

You stepped up to the plate with your trusty softball bat. But a few days back, you used the bat perfectly in practice. But today, as you swing and hit the ball, you experience a shocking lack of ability. Fifty-fifty though you hit it with every fleck of ability you have, the ball just did non want to wing that far. What gives?

Well, unfortunately, your softball bat is dead and requires replacing. But you don't see whatever cracks or dents in the butt. In fact, the handle also feels pretty sturdy. It can't possibly be dead suddenly, right? Nope, information technology's dead. Supervene upon it and move on.

Softball bats, like all sports equipment, tin can expire. You cannot look a single bat to terminal you a lifetime. It just doesn't happen. But what causes it to get dead? And what tin you practice to prevent it?

These are the questions that I will answer today. Here, I will help you effigy out if your softball is dead, how you can prevent it from dying sooner than its fourth dimension is up, and what you can do if it dies.

Do Softball Bats Habiliment Out?

Yep, eventually, all softball bats clothing out. Though most manufacturers these days use unlike methods to enhance the lifespan of their softball bats, the truth is that no bat in the world can last indefinitely. Ane twenty-four hour period or another, the softball bat will need to be replaced.

You might notice a poor performance from the bat suddenly. Or the bat tin start to crevice along the barrel. Or possibly you will start hearing weird and dull thuds coming out of it when yous striking the ball. These are the common symptoms of a expressionless softball bat.

How to Tell if a Softball Bat is Dead?

Easy as it may sound, identifying a expressionless softball bat can be quite tricky, peculiarly for a rookie hitter. Sure, if it cracks downwards the barrel, information technology is a safe bet that information technology is expressionless. But not every softball bat cracks when its time is upwards. Some bats, such as alloy softball bats, but start performing poorer.

To make things easier, let me give yous a quick rundown of some of the telltale signs that will help you know that your softball bat is dead and requires replacement.

i. Power Decrease

One of the first signs of a dead softball bat is that its power decreases drastically. The same bat that you lot used to hit dwelling house runs with will have a hard time driving the brawl through the field even when you striking the ball with its sweet spot. One time that happens, you need to call back about replacing it.

If you are using a composite bat that you bought recently, do non exist too hasty to discard it correct away for poor operation. Even a high-finish blended softball bat requires some breaking in. So yous need to take information technology out to the ballpark and hit effectually 150 to 300 balls with it to unlock its fullest potential.

ii. Unusual Sound

All softball bats make a sound when you hit the ball with them. And the type of sound it produces can be different depending on its materials and construction design. Typically, if you are using an blend bat, you should hear a loud "ping" sound the moment the ball hits the bat.

Simply as the bat nears the end of its lifespan, the sound gets a lot duller. Over time, yous will discover the sound changing from a "ping" to a "pong." Don't beat yourself upwardly if you tin't observe the sound difference, a lot of veterans have a hard time figuring out whether the bat needs replacing using this method only.

3. Cracks or Dents

A more obvious way to figure out if your softball bat is expressionless is to bank check for cracks. If you are using an alloy softball bat, you should look for dents as these bats do not scissure. It is natural for softball and baseball bats to show some minor cracks and habiliment subsequently you use them a couple of times.

However, if yous meet massive cracks in the barrel, or if it seems dented severely, then it is probably expressionless and requires replacing. There are a couple of ways to fix your cracked softball bat if the damage is non too severe, though. But somewhen, you need to switch to a new bat.

4. Pronounced Stinging

Almost composite bats in the market come up with advanced sting dampening features to reduce the vibration information technology produces when you strike the ball. Simply if you suddenly notice that the bat vibrates as well much fifty-fifty when you lot manage to strike the ball with its sweet spot, and then it is probably dead or close to dying.

All bats vibrate when you striking the ball with them, and at that place are plenty of reasons why it happens. But if you hit the ball with the sugariness spot of the bat, it should not rattle likewise hard. A dead softball bat, on the other hand, vibrates fifty-fifty when you hit the ball with its sweet spot, and that makes it near unusable.

5. Handle Gets Pushed Inside

If you notice your softball bat handle getting pushed into the butt, then you demand to change it immediately. In that location is no fix for it, and at that point, y'all exercise not want to utilize the bat anymore. This phenomenon is more common with bats that feature a two-piece construction.

When the connection betwixt the two pieces of the bat gets damaged, the handle starts to get pushed into the barrel when you swing it. Sadly, y'all cannot repair the connection, at to the lowest degree non without taking information technology to a professional luthier and spending premium bucks. Frankly, it is simply not worth the hassle. Replacing it is way easier and cheaper too.

When Do Softball Bats Become Dead?

Any high-quality softball bat made by a good brand should final y'all a good long while before information technology shows any severe issues. In most cases, a softball bat survives at least a year or two under heavy use. At that point, you should already become your coin'southward worth out of the bat if yous are a decent enough hitter.

There are reports of a new bat dying merely after a couple of months. If that happens to you, that ways you were but unlucky and ended up with a bad bat. I would recommend trying to attain out to the manufacturer and see if they will ship y'all a replacement if that happens.

The lifespan of a softball bat also depends on a lot of factors such as how yous store information technology, the type of ball you striking with information technology, weather, whether you are playing slowpitch or fastpitch softball, etc. So, the best advice I tin give you is to utilize the bat with care and not share it or be reckless with its user.

If yous or your motorbus has admission to a compression tester, and then y'all tin can easily determine whether your bat is close to dying. Typically, nearly slowpitch softball leagues give the team access to this testing method to run into if the bat is fit for upcoming competitive games.

What does a dead softball bat audio similar?

A dead softball bat will accept a thud sound instead of the usual crack or ping. So, when your softball bat is in height condition, the sound volition be different. That'due south why information technology'southward amend to get used to the audio because once information technology changes, you'll immediately know that something is wrong with the bat.

Do composite softball bats go dead?

They sure practise. But similar any other softball bat (blend, wooden), a composite softball bat can also go expressionless. You'll realize it once the bat lacks power and doesn't perform as it once used to.

How to tell if a composite softball bat is dead?

The symptoms that you find when a softball bat goes expressionless are the same symptoms you'll find when a blended bat goes expressionless likewise. Then, in that location's zippo different. The symptoms (although I mentioned them earlier) are:

Decreased ability
High vibration
Weird audio
Cracks/dents
Handle displacement

What does a dead composite softball bat sound like?

Composite bats don't have the feature loud ping sound that yous get from alloy bats. Instead, information technology sounds as if somebody dropped a really heavy rock down a well. And so, the sound is deep and echoey.

How to Take Care of Your Softball Bat?

The trick to making your softball bat last is to take intendance of it. In that location are no hidden means to suddenly restore your bat to its former glory. If it dies, it dies, and you have no other option simply to supercede it. But if y'all take care of it, then you can wait it to last a good while earlier yous need to think about a replacement.

Here are my top four tips to make sure your softball bat lasts as long as possible.

1. Make clean Frequently

The showtime tip, and probably the most important communication that I can requite you is to clean your softball bat as often as possible. You would exist surprised how much dirt and grime start to build up in unlike parts of the softball bat just afterward a couple of games. It can drastically reduce the lifespan and performance of the bat.

But if you lot merely take the time to wipe it down with a clean material from time to fourth dimension, you can reduce the clay buildup quite a bit. And it only takes a couple of seconds to do that after each game. And then, if you are not too jerky to simply jam it inside the locker, information technology is pretty like shooting fish in a barrel to make your softball bat concluding a long fourth dimension.

two. Store it Properly

Another thing that y'all can do to make certain your softball bat survives longer is to shop it properly. Make sure your locker is make clean and does not have whatever wet or temperature issues. Think how I said composite bats could suspension if you employ them in extremely common cold conditions. Well, if the temperature in your locker dips downwardly oft, it tin can ruin the lifespan of the bat.

Whenever I put abroad my bats after a game, I also toss in a couple of silicone dehumidifiers inside to keep the moisture in check. With blended or alloy bats, this might non be all that essential. If you are storing your wooden bats, then using a dehumidifier is a good idea as the wet can impairment them.

3. Do non Share

I know you lot are a good guy and when someone forgets to bring their bat to practise, yous feel tempted to help them out. Simply if you lot are planning to share your expensive softball bat, then I would advise you to continue with caution. About softball bats have a limit to how many times y'all tin can hit the ball with them.

In fact, I would also recommend not using your game bat in your practice sessions unless y'all absolutely accept to. This would aid you get more utilize out of the bat over the class of the softball flavour. If you are lucky, you lot might even get two or three seasons' worth of use out of it.

iv. Use the Right Brawl

Y'all do not want to play baseball with your softball bat. This is the quickest way to impairment and scissure the bat. Baseball balls are tougher, and softball bats are just not equipped to withstand the force of touch on that it creates when y'all hit it. You only want to utilize softball balls for your bats.

In fact, in practice sessions, I would recommend using lighter balls every bit it would continue your bat performing in height condition for longer. These grooming balls have less density and leave no impact damage on the barrel of the bat. And then y'all exercise non have to worry about information technology splitting in one-half.

5. Do not Knock Cleats with Bats

I am sure you have seen how a lot of professional MLB hitters knock the lesser of their metal cleats with their softball bat when they take their plough on the plate. It looks cool, right? Well, yes, I volition not argue that it does look pretty fashionable, but information technology too leads to your bat having a poorer lifespan.

If you are wearing metal cleats, knocking the barrel of the bat on it can lead to mini-fractures or cracks. You might not fifty-fifty notice information technology at beginning. But over time, those cracks volition get bigger, and eventually, the bat will split wide open. So resist the urge, every bit cool as it may seem.

Tin can Yous Return a Dead Softball Bat?

By return, I do non mean returning to the manufacturer. Once a bat dies, and if its warranty is upwardly, you cannot get a replacement from the company, and you just have to have that.

Unfortunately, at that place is not much you lot can do with a expressionless softball bat. If you happen to notice your bat dying and performing poorly at an early phase, you tin filibuster the inevitable to some degree. Once it dies, you should supercede it immediately instead of trying to restore it.

But if the bat is notwithstanding under warranty, you tin can try contacting the manufacturer, and see if they will assist you out. I cannot guarantee that you will get a replacement, just it is definitely worth a attempt. Afterward all, I got a replacement bat a few years back when information technology died after merely five months.

Replacement Options if Your Softball Bat Goes Dead

I know how it feels when a softball bat starts performing poorly. You might be tempted to try and set up it yourself, just I would strongly propose against it. The end consequence will never be the same every bit buying a new high-end bat. Allow me get out y'all with a couple of replacement options if your softball bat dies on you.

Both alloy and blended softball bats are pretty popular in fiddling league or high-school softball games. Though I typically prefer playing with a composite bat, I volition also advise an alloy bat that I have used in the past and got good results with. So, nobody volition feel left out.

Rawlings | Mantra | Fastpitch Softball Bat Serial | Multiple Lengths

Whether I am looking for the catcher'due south mitt or a new softball bat, I have always been an avid fan of Rawlings. This make has been my get-to choice ever since my babyhood. And now that I am a coach myself, I always recommend this brand to my players and readers.

As you may know, Softball bats can exist quite expensive. Some high-end options can toll obscene amounts of money. Compared to those bats, the 400 dollars estimated price tag of the Rawlings Mantra is quite reasonable. It is nonetheless non exactly cheap, just you volition get your money's worth out of it.

If I had to use ane word to describe the bat, I would use the discussion – Perfect. Because that is what it is. It features a 2-piece blended barrel with a three-stride inner barrel. What that gives you is a perfect balance and a perfect swing.

For athletes that desire a smoothen swing through the strike zone, at that place are very few bats out at that place that are better than the Mantra. Its even weight distribution and swing force earned somewhat of a legendary status amid players who have used this bat before.

What makes this bat truly stand out is its knob design. The knob can be equipped with the Smash Motion Sensor that sends information points to your smartphone once you pair it up with the applied science and allows y'all to analyze and amend your swing. Then, for preparation rookie hitters, this can be a fantastic pickup.

The handle of the bat comes with a tapered grip that allows you to maximize your command over your swing. Information technology is bachelor in multiple sizes and weights. So you can pick up the length that you are most comfortable with.

The blue and white aesthetics of the bat is also quite stunning. It looks great at the easily of simply about whatsoever hitter. I know the price is quite steep. But if you have the budget, you lot cannot become wrong with the Mantra.

Parting Shots

Every bit sad as information technology is, all softball bats go dead eventually. Fifty-fifty a high-end softball bat that you spent a lot of greens to become volition i a 24-hour interval require replacing. The best yous tin do is brand sure it lasts every bit long as it can. If yous get at least one yr of apply out of your bat, that is money well spent.

I promise my article could analyze if you had any misconceptions near softball bats and their durability. My handy listing of tips, if followed correctly, should help you go decent apply out of your bat. Cheers!

Source: https://baseballhover.com/how-to-tell-if-a-softball-bat-is-dead/