I Broke A Metal Bat

[Brett Keith]

So last year I borrowed a softball bat from my friend that owns the shop here, because I hadn't bought a bat since I was a kid. I went to the batting cages, ended up spraining my wrist, which lingered, so no hitting for me. I still had the bat and wanted to hit today, since it was warm finally. I get to the cage, get in the slow pitch hardball cage to warm up, these are the somewhat soft, yellow, dimpled "hardballs". I realize my swing is completely out of whack, plus I've lost so much strength, so I was either pulling it foul or occasionally missing. So I'm through a couple bucks worth of quarters, in there again, take a swing, hit it, and the bat snaps at the bottom of the barrel, sending the barrel flying to the back of the cage. I couldn't believe it. I also lost almost all that round. I ended up borrowing a bat from someone there, I didn't break that one. So I went to show my handywork at the shop and end up opening some packs of the new Upper Deck Ice hockey, getting crap. I then decide to test my luck with a box of '08 Bowman Draft, I hit a non-prospect Refractor box and a Cody Adams autograph. So I'm without bat, and without about $100. That is all.

 

[jacobbocce72]

Those batting cage balls are notorious for destroying bats... Do not use a bat you care about at all in the cages, most likely it won't survive for very long.

 

[zookerman182]

I just got back from the cages. I bought a game used ricky gutierez bat from 2001 and i always take that and use it. It has a really thin handle and is sort of top heavy and pretty long. It took me a good 2 rounds to get the hang of the 70mph cage. It also used the yellow dimpled balls. I love the batting cages, i dropped almost 20 bucks there tonight.

 

[NECpilgrims8]

I exploded an older liquid metal in the cage right after college. The barrell pretty much exploded into pieces, and I hit it directly on the sweet spot.

85 MPH cage will do that to a metal bat nearing its end, that spent a few season in the New England climate.

I sent what was left to my buddy from school, who hit .509 with it. He shed a tear but got a kick out of it.

 

[dethomas07]

Last season, Noah (who was 7 at the time) hit a pitch off the pitching machine ( 40 mph ) and this happened:

We kept the bat. It was a good thing that one of the other kids on the team had a DeMarini of the same weight and length that he could use. It happened in the 2nd game of the tournament.

David

 

[Wes]

So last year I borrowed a softball bat from my friend that owns the shop here, because I hadn't bought a bat since I was a kid. I went to the batting cages, ended up spraining my wrist, which lingered, so no hitting for me. I still had the bat and wanted to hit today, since it was warm finally. I get to the cage, get in the slow pitch hardball cage to warm up, these are the somewhat soft, yellow, dimpled "hardballs". I realize my swing is completely out of whack, plus I've lost so much strength, so I was either pulling it foul or occasionally missing. So I'm through a couple bucks worth of quarters, in there again, take a swing, hit it, and the bat snaps at the bottom of the barrel, sending the barrel flying to the back of the cage. I couldn't believe it. I also lost almost all that round. I ended up borrowing a bat from someone there, I didn't break that one. So I went to show my handywork at the shop and end up opening some packs of the new Upper Deck Ice hockey, getting crap. I then decide to test my luck with a box of '08 Bowman Draft, I hit a non-prospect Refractor box and a Cody Adams autograph. So I'm without bat, and without about $100. That is all.

At least it was old - my second year in college a guy on our team brought a brand new bat to the plate against Anthony Vega, now the closer for San Jose State. He ended up ground out but Vega shattered his bat with a 90 mph cutter.

 

[J.O.]

yep, i believe liquid medal bats adam are a two piece bat, making it that much easier to break. I forgot why, but I had an exo senior year in high school, and there was something in the bat that you could detect, maybe a sound, that when it got lower, the bat would lose its "pop." called up easton, and whatdya know, i got next year's exo model for free!

 

[thenumberonemetfan]

Last season, Noah (who was 7 at the time) hit a pitch off the pitching machine ( 40 mph ) and this happened:

We kept the bat. It was a good thing that one of the other kids on the team had a DeMarini of the same weight and length that he could use. It happened in the 2nd game of the tournament.

David

That was the first metal bat I ever bought

 

[NECpilgrims8]

yep, i believe liquid medal bats adam are a two piece bat, making it that much easier to break. I forgot why, but I had an exo senior year in high school, and there was something in the bat that you could detect, maybe a sound, that when it got lower, the bat would lose its "pop." called up easton, and whatdya know, i got next year's exo model for free!

This model was one of the first few models of Liquid metal bats. It was Red in color, so it was the second year of making that model. Great bat, actually, but it was a one piece bat.

It was used for 2.5 seasons of college ball, by multiple people. It was time for it to go to bat heaven.

 

[pujolsthomefan33]

LOL, Randy is going to kill you Brett......I need to get up there again...I am sure everyone else is getting all the big hits.

TK

 

[J.O.]

yep, i believe liquid medal bats adam are a two piece bat, making it that much easier to break. I forgot why, but I had an exo senior year in high school, and there was something in the bat that you could detect, maybe a sound, that when it got lower, the bat would lose its "pop." called up easton, and whatdya know, i got next year's exo model for free!

This model was one of the first few models of Liquid metal bats. It was Red in color, so it was the second year of making that model. Great bat, actually, but it was a one piece bat.

It was used for 2.5 seasons of college ball, by multiple people. It was time for it to go to bat heaven.

the newer models are two piece though correct? when i get my baseball express i recall something being two piece and i'm fairly certain it's that. i used an exo in high school because the liquid metal was barrel heavy and the exo is evenly distributed which is more comfortable for me

 

[All The Hype]

[quote="J.O.":2du6e8c2]yep, i believe liquid medal bats adam are a two piece bat, making it that much easier to break. I forgot why, but I had an exo senior year in high school, and there was something in the bat that you could detect, maybe a sound, that when it got lower, the bat would lose its "pop." called up easton, and whatdya know, i got next year's exo model for free!

This model was one of the first few models of Liquid metal bats. It was Red in color, so it was the second year of making that model. Great bat, actually, but it was a one piece bat.

It was used for 2.5 seasons of college ball, by multiple people. It was time for it to go to bat heaven.

the newer models are two piece though correct? when i get my baseball express i recall something being two piece and i'm fairly certain it's that. i used an exo in high school because the liquid metal was barrel heavy and the exo is evenly distributed which is more comfortable for me[/quote:2du6e8c2]


Correct, the last one piece liquid metal was the original plasma (the green and silver one). I loved that bat, but I broke two of them just hitting. The first one I cracked and the second one was just dented, but it was still my favorite bat.

 

[Brett Keith]

LOL, Randy is going to kill you Brett......I need to get up there again...I am sure everyone else is getting all the big hits.

TK

Actually he got back from vacation just a few hours before I came over there from Wee-Tee, so I walked in and started telling the story and showing the bat, then I see Randy walking out from the back. He probably forgot I had the bat. As for big hits, they sure haven't been coming for me, ofcourse I haven't opened a whole lot. Somebody hit a LeBron/Jordan dual auto /23 last week out of a box of SkyBox, and a Matt Ryan Auto/Patch came out of SP Authentic. That's the best I've heard of lately.

 

[pujolsthomefan33]

LOL, Randy is going to kill you Brett......I need to get up there again...I am sure everyone else is getting all the big hits.

TK

Actually he got back from vacation just a few hours before I came over there from Wee-Tee, so I walked in and started telling the story and showing the bat, then I see Randy walking out from the back. He probably forgot I had the bat. As for big hits, they sure haven't been coming for me, ofcourse I haven't opened a whole lot. Somebody hit a LeBron/Jordan dual auto /23 last week out of a box of SkyBox, and a Matt Ryan Auto/Patch came out of SP Authentic. That's the best I've heard of lately.

I figured you had been to good old wee-tee....Was the Lebron/Jordan from Premier??? I bought the 2 Matt Ryan Patch AUTOs and 2 Flacco Patch AUTOs that were pulled up there on ebay from the people who got them. Somehow, Josh, ended up with like 6 SPA Flacco Patch AUTO redemptions, not sure how that happened. I have not been up there since Chrome Draft....


TK

 

[muchuckwagon]

Sounds like a bad day....

You should have skipped the batting cages and card shop...instead, you should have paid a homeless guy $20 to kick you in the junk and just went straight home. At the end of the day, everyone would have been better off....instead, you have a busted bat and flushed $100 down the drain. Live and learn I guess.

 

[predatorkj]

I have done the same thing before but it was using one of those crappy metal bats they have at the cages.I don't like metal bats and never have.I have owned one my entire life.My mom could never afford a good metal bat so if I needed one for baseball I got a wooden one and had to be happy with it.

Anyway...same thing happened and the sucker snapped in two.I was pretty confused because it had never happened before and I was under the impression it couldn't.At least it wasn't mine.

As for the cage balls destroying bats...I am not sure if they ruin a bat any more than a regular ball would.In fact with a regular ball being a little harder and tighter wound I'd think the cage balls were actually easier on your bat.I do know a wooden bat doesn't hold up very long in there.I use only ash bats(mostly rawlings) professional stock models and they rarely last two trips to the cages but you have to think if I go I spend at least 20 rounds in there at one time so that's a lot for a bat to go through.But hey they only run about $20 so its not the end of the world.I am almost afraid to take the mizuno's(maple) I have laying around the house in there though because I am not picking up all of the shattered pieces while people are still hitting.