Never heard of it but apparently its a thing. Composite bats are rolled by a machine to break up the carbon fiber into smaller fibers giving the bat a better trampoline effect. Said (by those who do it for money) to increase exit velocity as well as the sweet spot and increases flight by 20-40 feet. Watch the video for a tutorial. UCF Allegedly Altering Bats, Former Knights Baseball Players Say - ESPN 98.1 FM - 850 AM WRUF Allegations were released on social media Monday from former UCF baseball players saying that they were using altered bats. The players who came forward were not named in the allegations. From tweet by Nick del Torre: These are stats before and after UCF was questioned about altered bats. Could also have been affected by the change to in-conference play from playing weaker out of conference opponents.
Yep its a thing. I know high school teams that have been accused of it. I know HS players that question it as well saying they know players that have rolled bats.
Its always been my understanding that rolling is not "illegal" like shaving them is. The rollers defend it saying that instead of taking 1000s of swings to break the bat down - they are doing it with a machine out of the wrapper. It doesnt "technically" change the bat like shaving does. You can easily find all the rolled bats you want on Ebay right now. Funny thing is that its much more prevalent at some of the younger ages. Because these days you swing wood for the most part 14-15 on up in the higher level travel ball tourneys.
NCAA rule for certified bats: PENALTY for a. and b.—A bat that has been flattened or altered to improve performance is an illegal bat. If such an illegal bat is detected before the first pitch, the batter shall be called out and the bat shall be removed from the game. If an illegal bat is detected after the first pitch, legal or illegal, the batter shall be declared out, and base runners shall not advance as a result of a batted ball. The bat shall be removed from the contest.
Rolling bats is legal and simulates hundreds of cuts loosening up the fibers of the bat making it “hot.” Notice many teams still using 2022 versions of bats as they still pass compression tests. Shaving bats is illegal and usually involves removing the sleeve or ring from the inside and lining with a polymer coating so it still passes compression tests.
NBA game balls go through a machine that simulates a lot of play and "break in". BTW they were my favorite basketball to use but only on a wood court. I had one and then another. Funny story about how I lost the first one. It ended up somewhere in the rafters of Florida Gym. I had hit the game winning shot in a pick up game and a normally mild mannered and very skilled prof that played hoops at Illinois State in his youth kicked it up there. LOL.
I think the argument about rolling from what I read back in the day was that there was a big difference between the performance “increase” from rolling vs natural break-in of 500 to 1000 hits. Rolling had a 8-9 mph increase vs 2-3 for break-in.
Im sure UCF are only ones doing this.... How is it even proveable unless you got a rat in the program? Doesnt seem to be visible on inspections. Tiny strike zones now, tiny parks, 'juiced' balls(low stitch), now rolled bats.. Gee Im shocked there are 5 SEC guys w/ 15+ HRs in only 30ish games.. If were going to have MLB strike zones, probably a good idea to use MLB bats(wood) jmo
Rolling bats leaves no visible signs. Unless you do it without the plastic wrapper and you cause the bat’s graphics to come off. Shaving a bat leaves signs along the cap but can be covered up immediately by normal BP.
then whaht was issue?? I was under assumption UCF did something 'extra'..no? Iv had a few friends now HS & summer ball coachs,, they say kids swear certain brands have more pop than others.. Wonder if the rolling at factory is the difference??
Shaving the bat is when they take this piece out of say LS Power Select and then coat the inside with a polymer allowing the barrel to flex and produce a massive trampoline effect. But the polymer allows the bat to still pass the mandatory compression test. Rolling the bat is just sticking it between rollers and producing a lot of pressure simulating thousands of cuts and make the fibers flex naturally. This allows the bat to produce to its max effect naturally. It sounds like UCF did the shaving thing and got caught. It could be just a misunderstanding by the author knowing the difference between rolling and shaving/cutting a bat.
