Bat shaving

No guesswork on my part.

I have a son playing travel baseball (9yrs old). I have had several parents talk openly about the rolling. Some parents are having someone do it for them and I have had some dads tell me how they did thier own bat in a vice.

Until a couple of months ago I hadn't heard about this. I have a friend that has a sporting goods store that told me that this stuff is wide spread and isn't limited to composite bats. The same is happening with shaving. He also told me that some of these people have gotten so good with it that even a trained eye can't tell. I haven't had anyone I have come in contact with is baseball or fastpitch that has told me they had a bat shaved. I would bet my house that some people are doing it.

I have two kids that pitch so this is a big concern for me. Umpires can catch the obvious cheaters.

This stuff started with slow pitch and is working its way down. Do a internet search on bat rolling and shaving and you will see this is a BIG problem. There are many people on message boards bragging about their "juiced bats".

 

From Anderson Message Board. SICK!!

Juiced 2004 RT?

Hello, I'm wondering if it is at all possible to "juice" or in this circumstance, shave a 2004 RT? I have a guy who is trying to sell me one that he claims his buddy shaved. The following is some of the email he sent me... i bought the bat, sent it out to a friend in Texas (known as "softball guru" on the web) who has "worked" on all my bats over the years. he cuts the inside of the bat, however, he does it like nobody else. he cuts a spiral groove in the bat the length of the barrel so that the bat not only has more flex (i.e. pop), but with the spiral cut instead of shaving the entire barrel it has more durability. trust me, he's the best, he's a national level competiter and has years of experience. this bat has some serious pop. as far as increase in performance it depends on the batter, the force with which i hit the ball is more than your or my daughter can generate, the more force in the swing the more flex of the bat, the more distance the ball goes. with that being said, having a bat "juiced" makes around 30-40 feet for me, for my daughter its somewhere around 20 feet. about the difference with the warning track and the other side of the fence. the biggest difference it made for my daughter was in line drives and groundballs. if she hit it any where but directly at the infielder, the ball was past them before they had time to make the play, and the balls that she hit at the infielders were much much harder for them to handle which resulted in my daughter having a very high on base percentage. hope this helps"
Your opinion would be helpful. NOTE... I'm not at all interested in buying this for my daughter. She has one already. I was just curious.



it is possible to alter the 04 and 05 model RKT FPs... dont get involved
Nate Robbins
Anderson Bat Company
GO DEEP!!

 

Sounds like all the other companys need to follow their example!

The same person I mentioned earlier that plays men's slow pitch tells me the Combat is ruined once the end cap is removed. Says the Miken,Easton and Worth are the most tampered with brands.

 

Fastpitch coaches aware of altered bats

The Nov. meeting of the Nat. FP Coaches Assoc. had the following to say about altered bats.:

Equipment was a hot topic, with the Equipment Testing and Certification Committee announcing an additional “break-in test” for bats (see related story in November’s Fastpitch Delivery). Doctoring of bats also was discussed and seems to be a bigger problem that initially thought.

 

very well put!

 

now why would you want to allow your daughter to depend on a juiced bat to gain an advantage for if she gets into the college level of play all bats are inspected... then she looses the mindset that she can hit better because she has a "juiced" bat.... why can't it be based on real hitting?

 

?

Just to clarify this was a post from another message board. You is not ME.

I do agree with what you said. It's going to be a sad day when someones daughter hits them out legally and everyone claims the bat is juiced.
It is already that way in baseball with the steroids.

 

Lesson

I am amazed at the things we do to try and win a "Game"! Really amazed at what we do in front of our children and with our children to win a "Game"! Amazed at what coaches will do to win a "Game".

Agree it can take away from the hard work that most kids put into their game and then fall under suspicion because of the few that cheat. Where did all the fun go.

 

Where did the ethics go in sports? In coaching I try to always instill do the right thing... at all times! This little note helps keep things in perspective for me! Granted I know it's long.. but it hits home!

like me i'm sure you've read this before but Cal sent it to me today and i was reminded once again of the opportunities to express my love and human-kindness, i need to take advantage of on a daily basis.



What would you do?....you make the choice. Don't look for a punch line, there isn't one. Read it anyway. My question is: Would you have made the same choice?
At a fund raising dinner for a school that serves children with learning disabilities, the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a
Question:
"When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does, is done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other children do.
Where is the natural order of things in my son?"
The audience was stilled by the query.
The father continued. "I believe that when a child like Shay, who was mentally and physically disabled comes into the world, an opportunity to realize true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people treat that child."
Then he told the following story:
Shay and I had walked past a park where some boys Shay Knew were playing baseball.
Shay asked, "Do you think they'll let me play?"
I knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team, but as a father I also understood that if my son were allowed to play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
I approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not expecting much) if Shay could play.
The boy looked around for guidance and said, "We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth inning."
Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a team shirt.
I watched with a small tear in my eye and warmth in my heart. The boys saw my joy at my son being accepted.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still behind by three.
In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from ear to ear as I waved to him from the stands.
In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again.
Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be next at bat.
At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the game?
Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball.
However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved in a few steps to lob the ball
in softly so Shay could at least make contact.
The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed.
The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay.
As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hi t a slow ground ball right back to the pitcher.
The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman.
Shay would have been out and that would have been the end of the game.
Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's
head, out of reach of all team mates.
Everyone from the stands and both teams started yelling, "Shay, run to first! Run to first!"
Never in his life had Shay ever run that far, but he made it to first bas e.
He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled.
Everyone yelled, "Run to second, run to second!" Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the base.
By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had the ball ... the smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to be the hero for his team.
He could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intentions so he, too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's head.
Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him circled the bases toward home.
All were screaming, "Shay, Shay,Shay, all the Way Shay"
Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, "Run to third!
Shay, run to third!"
As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on their feet screaming, "Shay, run home! Run home!"
Shay ran to home, stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the game for his team.
"That day", said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, "the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity into this world".
Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never forgotten being the hero and making me so happy, and coming home and seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her
little hero of the day!
AND NOW A LITTLE FOOTNOTE TO THIS STORY:
We all send thousands of jokes through the e-mail without a second thought, but when it comes to sending messages about life choices, people hesitate.
The crude, vulgar, and often obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that you're probably sorting out the people in your address book who aren't the "appropriate" ones to receive this type of message Well, the person who sent you this believes
that we all can make a difference.
We all have thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the "natural order of things."
So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people present us with a choice:
Do we pass along a little spark of love and humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little bit colder in the process?
A wise man once said every society is judged by how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.