Rockettech bat

[gator10]

Until all Umps start calling the same strike zone let them use any bat made. I'm sick of every game I go to the strike zone is diffrent. I was told there is a book defining the strike zone. O it's the rule book! Maybe one or two Umps have read it.

Edited April 27, 2005 by gator10

[holdtherope]

ERA is correct.the 04 was very hot and if anyone knows where I can get another 33" holler at me.I have only seen one 05 that seemed hot and it does not belong to our team otherwise the 05 seems to be duds.Easton bats are usually good year in and year out.

[Ladyad Dad]

Should the rockettech bat be banned.

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It makes a big difference. Last nights game between Farragut and Maryville for instance.

Allison Fulmer struck out in the previous at bat with a Demarini bat that she uses, then in the 7th switched to a Rockettech and sent the first pitch over the left field fence and on to our batting cage. I have never seen a ball hit that far on our field. So this bat can make the difference if you can swing it the right way. Alot of batters tend to drop under it and pop-up alot.

[shut up and play]

That is because they are very end loaded. Being end loaded gives the player the ability to swing it through the zone a lot quicker and harder. Some players that i know had to practice for two weeks straight off of a tee and pitching machines to get to where they were making solid contact instead of popping balls up. Those bats are all the Creek Wood team uses and they have nine girls on their team with at least one home-run. Earlier this year Laura Jepsen (center fielder for CW) had two grand slams in one game. If i had to guess i would say that if it had been another bat she would not have dropped two granny's on the opposing team.

[supercoach9]

The differance between a 98 mile per hour bat and a 100mph bat is 5 feet per two hundred feet the ball is hit or between the new and old rocket tech. Everyone looking to buy a bat should consider thier practice habits. If you don't practice alot an exspensive bat is a waste and always remember its not the arrow its the Indian.

[ERA]

ASA Tests New Softball Bats

 

By Staff

 

Coaching Management, 12.9, October 2004, http://www.momentummedia.com/articles/cm/cm1209/bbasa.htm

 

Coaches now have a year with the new bat standards under their belts, but the issue of how high-performance hitting equipment affects competition and player safety isn’t going away. Manufacturers continue to tweak their designs in hopes of making the most powerful bat on the market, and engineers continue to refine the science behind bat standards.

 

The NCAA and the National Federation of State High School Associations have chosen not to change their rules regarding bat standards for 2005. "I think we’ve got it about where we want it right now," says Marjorie Willadsen, Head Softball Coach at Buena Vista University and Chair of the NCAA Women’s Softball Rules Committee. "We’ve toned it down a little bit to make it a safer game but still keep the excitement. I’m afraid that if we hadn’t done that, the home run, instead of being an exciting event, would have become commonplace. I don’t think we want technology to take over the game as it has in a lot of other sports, such as golf and baseball."

 

The only bat-related issues addressed by the NFHS for 2005 were editorial changes to the rulebook, permitting oval handles and handle grips or wrappings that don’t cause the handle to become flush with the knob. Mary Struckhoff, NFHS Assistant Director and Softball Rules Editor, explains that manufacturers are selling bats with oval handles that offer improved grip over standard round-handled bats. Furthermore, some of the grip devices can prevent sting and help promote safety by making bats easier to hold on to. "We had some umpires saying the grips were legal and some saying they weren’t," Struckhoff says. "So we tried to clean up the language, saying that as long as the knob and handle are not flush, they’re okay."

 

While there are no changes in bat standards on the immediate horizon, the NCAA is not standing still on the issue. The association has commissioned testing to make sure the Amateur Softball Association standards are appropriate for the college game.

 

In setting its standard, the ASA commissioned Lloyd Smith, professor of mechanical engineering and materials science at Washington State University, to fire softballs from air cannons at stationary bats and measure the rebound speed. Those results were combined mathematically with average swing speeds to get an exit speed. Bats of different ages were tested, rated, and compared to the exit speed—98 mph—of bats from an era when the ASA believes safety and offense were properly balanced, according to Smith.

 

The calculations used the average swing speed of male slowpitch hitters, but Smith believes the numbers are still valid, because what matters is relative speed. In other words, the faster pitch in the college and high school game is balanced by a slower bat speed than that produced in men’s slowpitch. But to help confirm that approach, the NCAA commissioned its own test, using college hitters during the Division I Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City this year.

 

High-speed cameras recorded the bats’ rotational speed, swing height, and forward motion. Results are expected in late fall. "We collected between 50 and 100 megabytes of data for each swing," says Smith. "We had 35 players, and they each swung a bat 30 times. That’s a tremendous amount of data."

 

Testing will continue with developments in technology. Bat makers seek out materials and designs that will absorb the energy from the bat-ball collision and return it to the ball—creating the trampoline effect. "If you get a stronger aluminum, you can make a thinner barrel and the aluminum won’t yield," Smith says. "Manufacturers are now using composite materials for the same reason—they can deform more and they’re stronger. And they’re using multiple walls, in aluminum and composite bats, where you have a barrel made out of concentric cylinders, which allows the barrel to be softer but just as strong."

 

This is not news to coaches. Next season, Mark Wilkinson, Head Softball Coach at Noblesville (Ind.) High School, expects to have a player on his team who was hit in the face while pitching in an eighth-grade scrimmage this past spring. The hitter’s bat was legal for high school use under the ASA 2004 standard, but the injury prompted discussion locally about the power of modern bats. Wilkinson copes with the bat technology arms race by teaching his pitchers and infielders to note what bats opposing hitters bring to the plate. He tells corner players to back up when a strong hitter comes up with a notoriously powerful bat. Pitchers, of course, can’t do that, but how they pitch to a particular hitter can be adjusted based on the bat she’s carrying.

 

"The speed of those balls coming off the bat is certainly a concern among coaches," says Wilkinson. "I know how hard the sanctioning bodies try to keep that under control, but they’re fighting against companies that want to create the hottest bat out there."

 

Molly Feesler, President of the Ohio High School Fastpitch Softball Coaches Association and Head Coach at Pickerington North High School, welcomes the rule as a proactive safety measure. While the pitching vs. offense issue isn’t as contentious at her level as it is in college, she can see the change coming if bats are not regulated.

 

"Five years down the road we could be in the same predicament," Feesler says. "Our kids are getting stronger and stronger every year as they do a lot of off-season training and weightlifting. As the kids become stronger and the game gets faster—as in any sport—you’re going to run into more issues."

 

Coaches cope through communication, says Feesler. Players and parents need to understand that only stamped-as-approved bats can be used in games. "They know that it’s a state rule and a National Federation rule, not my rule, and that helps," she says.

Edited May 1, 2005 by ERA

[ERA]

 

Lloyd Smith, associate professor in the School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, has recently received a grant, continuing his work in testing softball and softball bat performance. In recent years, the Amateur Softball Association has become increasingly concerned about the increasing ease with which players can hit homeruns on the softball field. The current 60 mph tests required by the ASA haven't been able to adequately discriminate subtle improvements in bat performance, but the effects of those improvements have shown up on the softball field, where many softball leagues have to restrict the number of homeruns a team can make. The better bat performance also creates a safety concern. Smith and his research group has shown that high speed testing of up to 110 mph better assesses a bat's effectiveness, and they recently built and became the first ASA-certified high-speed testing lab in the country. This year, they will speed the test up again for fast-pitch softball, primarily played by women. The researchers are finishing a second cannon (150 mph) and will be in Oklahoma in May to do a field study of fast-pitch softball.

[ERA]

Many of you are probably not aware of the latest news in bats and bat testing. Engineers are working feverishly to come to a definitive standard for bats and testing techniques. In this particular article, attention is drawn to the reconfiguring, repainting and or modifications of bats illegally. The penalty is severe. The way in which they catch them can be particularly embarrassing to the perpetrator. You have to submit a bat for testing if suspected or if not, be banned from the game for up to three years.

 

Mon Apr 25 12:01:21 2005 Pacific Time

Bat Testing: Keeping League Softball Legal

 

FLINT, Mich., April 25 (AScribe Newswire) -- Keeping league softball bats legal and making it easier to test them in the field is the goal of Dr. Dan Russell, associate professor of Applied Physics at Kettering University. Russell has used physics to help manufacturers tune the "sweet spot" in composite and aluminum hollow bats used in softball, and is currently doing research which may benefit the United States Specialty Sports Association (USSSA) and the Amateur Softball Association (ASA), the two primary governing bodies for softball in the country, to develop performance testing to certify composite game bats.

 

"Two things are currently impacting bat manufacturers," said Russell, "problems with the testing process to certify bats and the underground business of altering bats."

 

The most significant problem with the test used to certify bats is that the manufacturers of softballs can't produce standardized balls. Slight variations in softballs result in some not having a tight enough tolerance to be used in bat testing.

 

"Players won't notice any difference in the field," Russell said, "but the lack of uniformity in softballs results in a huge variability in the test."

 

The current method the ASA uses for testing softball bats to determine their performance is called ASTM-F2219. This is a high-speed test for softball and baseball bats that verifies whether or not the science used in producing a particular bat is correct and meets current standards.

 

Previously, to certify legal bats produced by manufacturers, the ASA utilized a slower speed test similar to the bat performance factor (BPF) test still used by the USSSA, Russell said. "But eventually, companies figured a way around the tests and made bats that outperformed the test." The ASTM-F2219 test became mandatory in 2004.

 

Russell believes there may be an alternative to high speed impact test using manufactured softballs. His research focuses on alternative test methods that are more repeatable and don't involve using a ball at all. "The ASA wants a test that will duplicate conditions in the field as closely as possible," he said, "some researchers are working on standardizing the ball, but I'm working on testing without a ball."

 

Altering bats to improve or hide performance capabilities is another problem for manufacturers of softball bats. "It's a big money market," said Russell of bat altering. "There are four levels of national championships in softball and teams are ranked based on performance and skill," he said. "Some guys are willing to pay $300 to $400 on a bat they will only use in one game to win a championship," said Russell.

 

"There are about 50 'bat doctors' nationwide who will alter bats for softball to make them perform better," said Russell. A common alteration is to take a bat deemed illegal because it performs too well and re-paint it to look like a legal bat. Other methods include shaving the interior walls of the hollow bats making them thinner and improving their spring factor and end loading them to change the weight.

 

"Altered bats are a big problem in amateur softball," said Russell. "The USSSA and ASA have really started cracking down. If they suspect a bat has been altered they will ask the owner to submit it for testing." Refusal to submit a bat for testing can result in a one-year suspension for the player. An altered bat can earn a player a two to three year suspension.

 

Composite and aluminum bats used in softball are hollow causing them to have what is called trampoline effect. Because it is a hollow cylinder, the bat compresses when struck by a ball. "It can squish like a spring, like jumping on a trampoline," said Russell. A wooden bat can't compress because it's solid.

 

The current test to determine if a bat has been altered or is legal for championship play involves putting bats in a vice and applying pressure to determine their spring factor. The testing method isn't totally accurate according to Russell and bat manufacturers are concerned that many bats will be disqualified based on inaccurate test results.

 

Russell has a proposal in to the Sporting Good Manufacturers Association to analyze and compare testing methods and develop an accurate and consistent testing method to certify bats at championship games that is cost effective and easy to use.

 

In addition, Russell and colleagues Dr. Lloyd Smith, of Washington State University (WSU), and Dr. Alan Nathan, of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, developed "Bat-Ball 101," a course addressing the fundamentals of bat-ball impact and the science used in the development of current bat and ball test methods to help bat manufacturers meet USSSA and ASA regulations and still produce high performance bats.

 

Engineers, vice presidents and other leaders from bat manufacturers such as Easton, Louisville Slugger, Worth, DeMarini, Rawlings, Miken and Diamond as well as engineers from various bat-testing labs have attended the course.

 

The three professor's research relates to the science of bats and balls and forms a perfect triangle for communicating information on the new tests, Russell said. His contribution for Bat-Ball 101 focuses on why certain bats perform the way they do. Smith describes the methods behind bat and ball testing, while Alan examines the science behind the new rules.

 

Somewhat of an accidental tourist in the world of softball and baseball, Russell knows more about the equipment used than the games they're used for. "I have a greater appreciation for the people who play, knowing the tools they have to work with," he said. Russell plans to stick with the composite bats for his church league games and leave the wood to the pros. Is he tempted to test drive one of the "illegal" bats to improve his batting average? "No, I'm just out there to have some fun," he said.

 

- - - -

 

CONTACT: Dawn Hibbard, 810-762-9865; dhibbard@kettering.edu

 

Kettering University is an ABET accredited engineering and technology university in Flint, Mich., ranked among the top engineering schools in the nation by U.S. News and World Report. Based on the professional cooperative education model, Kettering students attend college year-round, rotating three month semesters with three month professional work experiences related to their field of study. Founded in 1919, the University provides 2,500 students with career-based education in engineering, applied sciences, mathematics, and business management. To find out more about Kettering, visit our web site at www.news.kettering.edu.

Edited May 1, 2005 by ERA

[ERA]

If you are curious as to how bats are made, this link gives you a good look and the expertise involved. The standards are high with the higher priced bats.

 

How Bats are Made

[Guest bamabound]

If you are curious as to how bats are made, this link gives you a good look and the expertise involved. The standards are high with the higher priced bats.

 

How Bats are Made

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I believe they just wanted to know your opinion if the rockettech should be banned. not a tutorial over how bats are made...

Edited May 1, 2005 by bamabound

[ERA]

I believe they just wanted to know your opinion if the rockettech should be banned. not a tutorial over how bats are made...

825662618[/snapback]

Actually, there are many people I talk with personally at these games that have an interest in bat makeups, not just on this site. Composites and double walls are bigtime different or did you know that? INFORMATION is the key to victory in war. Any competition has proven that very premise. I see you're new. You'll catch on.

[Guest bamabound]

Actually, there are many people I talk with personally at these games that have an interest in bat makeups, not just on this site. Composites and double walls are bigtime different or did you know that? INFORMATION is the key to victory in war. Any competition has proven that very premise. I see you're new. You'll catch on.

825662747[/snapback]

 

ok, once again, we're not talkin about people YOU'VE talked to in games. besides why don't you tell them.. he just wanted to know your OPINION on rockettech bats. or did you know that? if we wanted to know how bats are made, we would've posted a thread about that...

Edited May 2, 2005 by bamabound