Bats Asa Miken
Recently I attended the ASA Hooters National Championship and had some pretty good conversations with a number of people directly in the mix at the ASA headquarters. We spoke about a number of things including what the plans are in ASA regarding the 2010 bat performance standards. As you can image they are pretty tight lipped right now regarding what their plans are. The current standard was implemented in 2004. The current exist speed standard is 98mph and any by the has this stamp on it must stay at or below this rating for it is entire life. As I'm sure you know as composite bats get more and more hits on them or put through a Bat Rolling Machine the performance will most likely exceed the 98mph standard. During this years Hooters National Championships they had a bat compression testing device that was being used to make sure bats were below the 98mph standard. From what I could see, they tested the bat in 3-4 random locations along the length/diameter of the barrel in what appeared to be in very finite areas. I spoke to several teams out there and almost every one of them had at least one bat taken. These bats ranged from almost brand new to ones having 700+ hits on them. I've read that most people have some real questions about the validity of these results but that's a whole other issue. The one thing that I know for sure is that Bat Rolling and Altering is definitely on the radar screen for ASA as well the other associations. During my conversations with some ASA people they claim that these machines will be at every World Series location next year and they also claim they can actually tell if a bat has been rolled by using the machine. When rolling your bat you are evenly breaking in the entire barrel. What that means is that you'll have pretty consistence readings on the bat tested no matter where you are on the barrel. A bat with normal use will most likely have a wide range of readings across the length of the barrel. I found this interesting.
Back to the upcoming potential changes. As I mentioned, ASA will not comment on their plans for the 2010 and beyond seasons but due to contractual issues they are required to give the bat manufacturers time to react to any possible changes. The rumor is, ASA will be adopting a new 93 MPH rating and bats will not be able to exceed this rating (even after they are broken in). Easton has already released their "Reveal" series which I think is a precursor to things that are coming. These bats are rated at the 93 MPH rating and have technology that "supposedly" shows signs of altering. I know from many Bat Rolling Companies that you can still roll them without any signs at all. BatRolling4u.com is one of them and they claim to have done many of these bats. Every manufacturer has bats currently being produced that will not meet this new standard. Back in 2004 when ASA adopted the current 98 MPH standard they gave manufacturers 2 years to comply with the new rating and they most likely will do the same for this new standard. These new potential changes make Bat Rolling an important step to getting your bat to perform. When rolling your bat, you're gaining about 20-40ft of additional distance which equates to about 5 mph. The new proposed 93 MPH rating now makes sense. ASA knows it is very difficult to stop the Bat Rolling so if they impose the new standard and you choose to roll your bat the new exit speed with not be more than the current standard of 98 MPH. It all makes sense if you look at it that way.
Bat Rolling companies are definitely going to see an increase in business should this new performance rating actually be implemented. These changes will also drive the price up of the pre 93 MPH bats because after the new rating is in place the manufacturers will not be able to make these bats any longer. A very similar thing happened when they put the 2004 rating in place and offered a 2 year grandfather clause. The price for the original Miken Freaks and Easton Synergy 2's sky rocketed. I recommend you stay up to date on this new change.
There is a good Bat Rolling Blog that has all the up to date information and I'm sure they'll keep everyone informed of any changes as they occur. Sit tight, the next few months are going to be interesting. Be sure to visit The Bat Rolling Blog if you want update to date information on the subject of Bat Rolling. BatRolling 4u makes what looks like a well made Bat Rolling Machine.
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