Wood Bat Care

How to Help Keep Your Bat in One Piece

We typically notice 2 things about a broken bat right away:

1) The logo orientation on the swing when the bat breaks is not facing up or down (tests have shown that this will decrease the strength of your bat up to 23%).

2) There are ball mark(s) at the very end of the bat.  Most bat breaks occur by hitting a ball or numerous balls off the end of the bat.  This can occur on the first swing/contact.

Below are two images that show the area where the ball should be contacted on the barrel. Contacting the ball here will limit the vibrations that happen throughout the bat. Vibrations are what cause bats to break. Hitting the ball where the logo is (getting jammed) or hitting the ball off the end of the bat doesn't feel good on your hands due to the amount of vibration happening throughout the length of the bat. Also constantly rotating the bat when batting loses the logo orientation and increases the chances of the bat breaking. 

Properly Storing Your Bat

Remember, a wood bat is a natural product. To help increase the longevity of your bat:

1) Always store your bat standing up. Leaning them against a wall will cause the bat to warp. 

2) Be aware of your environment. All of our billets are climate controlled to stay between 7%-9% moisture content. Basements and garages will pull the moisture from your bats, as will leaving them in your vehicle.  

Using your wood bats in a batting cage with dimple balls is a sure fire way to have your bat break sooner than you would like. Dimple balls are completely different than baseballs and can easily break bats. Any broken bat with evidence of using dimple balls are void of any warranty or return.  

All of our billets are climate controlled to stay between 7%-9% moisture content.  You should be aware of your environment when storing your bats or not using them as they are a natural product.  Basements and garages will pull the moisture from your bats, as will leaving them in your vehicle and crack or end checking may occur if out in these environments for too long.  Storing them leaning against a wall will cause your bats to warp.

Remember, a wood bat is a natural product and there are several things that will help to increase the longevity of your bat.