Cross posted this on the general forum as well.


Easton Stealth Comp, Regular flex. The rubber joint has developed a little gap between the rubber and the barrel of the bat. Still hits fine, no strange sounds, just a gap. Almost like the rubber has shrunk.

Anyone seen this? Reason for concern? Warranty claim?

We just started hitting really well...hate to break in a "new" bat if we don't have too!!

Question - how do you break in a new bat?

Answer:

From an article about composite bats:

A word about Composite Baseball Bats
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.

There are several Pros and Cons (and misconceptions) about composite bats, but players and coaches need to have the correct information before making a judgment. After I explained the proper break-in and use of composites to a few of our high school players, they were amazed at the difference. At first, the ball will sound like it came off a wooden bat, which was another complaint in many reviews, but with proper effort and care you can break them in to the point where it sounds more like a rifle than wood. Players, coaches and parents need to know what they are buying. Without proper knowledge, they are just buying a $300 or $400 Bat, but with the correct knowledge they could be buying $300 Lightning Rod. Composite bats give a whole lot more forgiveness for the imperfect swing, and have the potential to make the average hitter a clean-up hitter.

please re-read...it does not answer the question.

I'm so sorry, I didn't include the most important part. We didn't count the number of hits, but the sound definitely changed over the course of about a month of BP with it.


Here it is, cut and pasted:

How do I break in a composite bat?

It usually depends on the bat, but commonly you just need a lot of good BP with the bat. You have to have between 100 to 200 hits to break it in. Some bats take longer than others. You need to be hitting goods balls, leather cover solid baseballs. Hitting off a tee will not break it in very effectively. You need to be hitting live balls thrown 40mph or better. A machine works good if it is set up to throw real baseballs. Each time you make good contact you need to turn the barrel about 1/8 turn so you break in the bat evenly.

Never heard this and not really sure I believe it. How does stressing a composite bat improve performance?

From a logic standpoint, this makes no sense.

Well, I was a little skeptical. But I've seen it with my own eyes. Realizing that's probably not good enough for you. It has something to do with the layers of material, glue, resin, whatever. As they are impacted they start to breakdown, causing wide/longer sweet spot. I'm not typing it all, but
check out what this smart guy has to say....

http://research.wsulibs.wsu.edu:8080/dspace/bitstream/2.../1/c_cruz_050505.pdf

It says about 4.5% for natural break in, a little more from drastic methods....

I have not heard of breaking in a new bat, but I have heard of being really selective of what bat. I was in Arizona in Oct 2007 for a tourny and the rookie leagues were running out of Peoria, and this huge domincan guy from the Dodger rookie team was taking one fresh bat after another out of a trash can with maybe 200 or so bats in it, and he hit balls with each one until he got to one he liked. Then another guy would do it. That might have been the weirdest thing ive ever seen in baseball.

I'm no expert about composite bats (sounds strange just saying composite bat) but from I understand I agree with 1BDad. I had heard that the layers of composite material have to fuse together to form the sweet spot and that was done in BP (like 1BDad said). Kinda like causing the inner and outer layers to fuse together to form one piece.

Yeah, I know...not a real scientific explanation.

From what I understand about industrial composites, it makes sense.