I took my son out for baseball practice tonight with his new composite bat and sure enough, just like last year, he breaks the darn thing the very first time. This whole "breaking" in the new bat is getting tiresome! I have found a trend though- if the bat doesn't break or dent the first time out, it propbably will never break. Other kids have the same exact bat in the same exact conditions and never break theirs. Is it just my bad luck or does my kid just have a swing that is conducive to breaking bats? Last year he dented a brand new stealth on the first trip out and this year he broke a LS catalyst composite first time out.

That composite bat sure is sweet though- it sounds exactly like a wooden bat! Also at practice he used his other brand new composite bat(demarini cf3) and no breakage. I am baffled. It is still a little cold out but bats just shouldn't break like I am seeing in soft toss baseball practice.

Do others have this same problem or is it just me. I am getting more and more afraid to let the kid break in the new bat. Should I get a bat warmer or something for the new bat until it is used that first few times? Is it maybe just coincidental bad luck or a flawed bat to begin with?

Perhaps he needs some instruction as to how to hit with a composite/wood bat.

I never heard of "breaking in bats"--

By breaking in the new bat I meant it as a pun as he is literally "breaking" in the new bat. When first using the new bat it is always a cool ritual to see how it feels and what kind of pop it has. Hitting with a composite bat is no different than an aluminum I thought, Am I wrong?

Or perhaps, this website that Easton advertises on is correct.....

quote:

Composite Baseball Bats, such as the Easton Stealth Composite and Louisville Catalyst, are fairly new to the Baseball scene. They have been used in softball for many years. Early on, there seems to be some mixed reviews on the Composite baseball bats. I believe this is because the baseball world is not fully educated on these bats, and don't realize how to make a composite bat work for them.

To start off with, composite bats have a much longer break-in period than aluminum bats, and hitting jugz balls will not do it. If you plan on breaking in these bats in the cages, you need to use real baseballs. Another common complaint in some reviews is the poor durability of these bats. But, what players and coaches must realize is that they are not just swinging a hunk of metal anymore. Composite bats should not be used in cold weather; temperatures less than 70 degrees they can easily break, as many are finding out. Another common complaint is the cost. Yes, they are expensive, but if broken in correctly and used correctly, you will get so much more out of your bat than the aluminum or hybrids of past years.

So they do need some break in time, and I've witnessed the change in sound that happens as the stealth breaks in.

quote:

Originally posted by 1BDad:
Or perhaps, this website that Easton advertises on is correct.....

quote:

Composite Baseball Bats, such as the Easton Stealth Composite and Louisville Catalyst, are fairly new to the Baseball scene. They have been used in softball for many years. Early on, there seems to be some mixed reviews on the Composite baseball bats. I believe this is because the baseball world is not fully educated on these bats, and don't realize how to make a composite bat work for them.

To start off with, composite bats have a much longer break-in period than aluminum bats, and hitting jugz balls will not do it. If you plan on breaking in these bats in the cages, you need to use real baseballs. Another common complaint in some reviews is the poor durability of these bats. But, what players and coaches must realize is that they are not just swinging a hunk of metal anymore. Composite bats should not be used in cold weather; temperatures less than 70 degrees they can easily break, as many are finding out. Another common complaint is the cost. Yes, they are expensive, but if broken in correctly and used correctly, you will get so much more out of your bat than the aluminum or hybrids of past years.

So they do need some break in time, and I've witnessed the change in sound that happens as the stealth breaks in.

I believe your answer is in the above quaote.


The Anderson youth Techzilla also recommends about 150 (if memory serves) hits before it is broken in.There is a noticable differnce once the outer core starts forming to the inner core.