seniorsbfart wrote:Our Irish friend is correct. Rolling a composite bat is not altering bat in the least. It only speeds up the break in process and on the new standard ASA it really will not affect the bat at all.
I disagree. The only reason to roll a bat is to make it more lively. The rules specifically state you are not allowed to alter the properties of the bat. Even if consider this to be 'only speeds up the break in process' it is still against the rules. Beating your bat on a pole, would be similarly altering the make up of the bat and against the rules.
Also, IMHO hitting thousands of balls for the purpose of breaking a bat is against the rules. Hitting thousands of balls to improve your swing using the same bat is allowed.
I agree, from a safety perspective there is little difference from a heavily used cf4 to a rolled cf4, but from a rules perspective they are different.
Manufacturers are not rolling bats at the factory.
ASA has changed the testing process and added a step for rolling bats to simulate the break in of a bat. This is so that they can make sure that after a bat is broken in, that it will not violate the 98 mph standard.