Anderson Bat Q & A

[RT4ever]

Great advice here.

Besides the fact that it's CHEATING, I wouldn't recommend rolling your bat to anyone!

How long is the typical break-in process? I have a brand new original slowpitch Rockettech... how many hits would you say it would take for it to be broken in?

And yes, I agree with the above poster. It's been a real treat to be able to talk to someone who makes the bats we all love!

The typical break-in process is between 25 and 125 impacts. Remember you are listening for a change in the sound. The slowpitch model may be more because the walls are thicker. I break mine in by pounding it off a tee. and turning it after every impact. Remember that you are dislodging one wall from the other and turning the bat is important.

Awesome, that's pretty much what I do. I'm all about hitting off the tee. And yeah, I rotate the barrel after every swing. Good to know!

[Tumblebug]

I believe proper hitting mechanics and a little bit of strength allow a hitter to use an end-loaded bat quite effectively. I think if an end loaded bat produces too many popups or late contact, the issue is one of using too much arm in a swing and not enough explosive rotation of hips/torso.

But that's the subject for another thread.

I think you hit it right on the screws here. But it is important to realize that weight is only part of the variables.

[dittoz]

Thanks TB - that's pretty much right on what I have always thought as well.

Take a look at the photo link I posted - you'll see her hands in tight and I have literally dozens of pictures of her just like that. I know her hands almost always take a very inside track when she swings, so I don't think that's the issue.

My main point is that the TZ has always been sold (down the line at retail anyway) as being a balanced bat. The "swing weight", while different than actual weight, implies the same thing in the minds of many. My point here is that if she take a 31" brand X and a 31" TZ, the implied information says that at the very least, the feel of the weight distribution should be roughly the same. If we downsized her to a 30" TZ, then she's giving up the outside edge of the plate where coaches frequently pitch her when using the TZ and she's getting jammed up when using her current 31" CF3.

Now don't get me wrong here - I am as big of a supporter of the Anderson line as anyone you know. I have been personally responsible for a significant number of Anderson sales up here in NorCal and I will always be a devotee of your products. Our whole 10u team bought the Anderson team package back in the day and I still wear the shirts and coats and visors as GameGal can attest to. Mainly, I'm disappointed that at this point, my DD struggles to effectively swing the product that we so readily endorse and I really cannot say that her bat is "too long" when the same length in other products seems to be just fine.

[Tumblebug]

Mainly, I'm disappointed that at this point, my DD struggles to effectively swing the product that we so readily endorse and I really cannot say that her bat is "too long" when the same length in other products seems to be just fine.

Here is the struggle that we find ourselves in with the swing weight issue. The RocketTech FP design was introduced 2003. Based on the bats of the day we established a baseline MOI that is the basis for out swing weight system. Our competition was other aluminum bats.

The ASA test requirements for certification changed in 2004 and MOI became an important variable in the test. So to pass the test the other manufacturers began to design to lower MOI results. Most recently, and for very different reasons than ours, some new bats have begun to be produced with a lower MOI. At the same time, composite bats do not have some of the restrictions in structure that the aluminum bats have. So the difference you are seeing is a change in MOI for a new composite -9 bat. If I were to do a swing weight calculation of some of the new bats the results would be a considerably lighter swing weight than the listed weight. But it doesn't have the advantage of added total mass where it swings at the listed weight but quite the opposite, it swings lighter than listed.

[DunninLA]

Tumblebug,

I appreciate the comment about there not being a race to get to the longer lengths, and the Gwynn example. HOWEVER<

Fastpitch softball presents outside strike challenges never contemplated or seen at any level of baseball. A pitch which does not touch ANY part of the plate, and in fact missed the plate by 3" and touches and crosses the opposing batters' box line, is routinely called a strike in ASA, College, and most especially in the World Championships.

With that outside "strike" in mind, in FP it is quite important to have a bat of a length that can at least foul off that pitch.

It is of course an objective to not have to distort one's swing too much to reach that pitch, and surely a 30" or 31" bat has trouble reaching that pitch even with a push/poke.

[DunninLA]

dittoz,

I had a look at your daughter's swing:

http://i492.photobucket.com/albums/rr28 ... sh_web.jpg

I see she's keeping her hands in, and her lead arm doesn't drop like with most kids. She has a fairly good rotation, maybe a little too erect in her swing, but that's just quibbling. She's better than 95% of kids her age, that's clear.

I like what I see there. I think her thin frame does present challenges with respect to bat mass and the tradeoff with length. I see she's choking up an inch on the CF3. My only suggestion would be to go to the 30" Anderson, or wait another 6-8 months (or sooner if you can get her to do some pushups and maybe light barbells to swing the heavier bat) to go back to the Anderson for another try. In other words I don't think she'll always need to swing a lighter bat, but she just needs to get bigger and stronger.

[Tumblebug]

Tumblebug,

I appreciate the comment about there not being a race to get to the longer lengths, and the Gwynn example. HOWEVER<

Fastpitch softball presents outside strike challenges never contemplated or seen at any level of baseball. A pitch which does not touch ANY part of the plate, and in fact missed the plate by 3" and touches and crosses the opposing batters' box line, is routinely called a strike in ASA, College, and most especially in the World Championships.

With that outside "strike" in mind, in FP it is quite important to have a bat of a length that can at least foul off that pitch.

It is of course an objective to not have to distort one's swing too much to reach that pitch, and surely a 30" or 31" bat has trouble reaching that pitch even with a push/poke.

I have to admit I have coached (and umpired 2 years) baseball since 1985. I coached and umpired a little fastpitch back in the mid-70s for pocket change but I don't even know if Bobby Sox is still around. So a plate coverage anomaly like what you describe is outside my knowledge base. I only know what I know and of course I don't know what I don't know.

[dittoz]

Thanks Dunnin;

I think that once again, we're both pretty much in alignment. I don't want to turn this thread away from the Anderson topic, but suffice it to say, SIZE seems to be a recurring theme when it comes to swinging some of the Anderson products and with DD, it's definitely no different! She will grow some day and as long as her mechanics stay, she will continue to increase her already potent bat.

Tumble - I ran out of vowels after the first sentence , but I do understand what you're saying and it's an interesting tradeoff that I have often discussed with others. Take a 31" pencil (that won't break of course) and swing and hit the ball in exactly the same location as you would with a 31" / 10-pound iron pipe and which will hit the ball further? At what point does the trade off of bat mass for bat speed become an issue? The best answer I can come up with in my mono-syllabic world is that with my own "thin framed" DD, the bat speed goes further for her than the bat mass would in the case of say, Crystl Bustos.

Hence, the need for more pushups!

[RT4ever]

Noooo! We cannot let this thread die! It sitting on page 3 is unacceptable!

On one hand I want to ask you questions, Mr. Anderson, about bats, but on the other hand, they'd be questions about slowpitch bats, and this being a fastpitch forum, I don't want to be a thread hijacker.

So we can compromise! I do believe my question will apply to fastpitch bats as well as slowpitch.

In regards to the Rockettech... which would you swing if the game were on the line? A broken in OG Rockettech, or a broken in 2010 model?

The reason I ask is this... you always get those people that SWEAR that the OG model's the best. Peolpe argue that the OG Rockettech is superior to the newer models. But, aren't there improvements made to each new model that comes out? I would think that a broken in 2010 Rockettech (be it slowpitch or fastpitch), with all the improvements that have been made on it, would out hit a broken in OG Rockettech.

[Tumblebug]

In regards to the Rockettech... which would you swing if the game were on the line? A broken in OG Rockettech, or a broken in 2010 model?

The reason I ask is this... you always get those people that SWEAR that the OG model's the best. Peolpe argue that the OG Rockettech is superior to the newer models. But, aren't there improvements made to each new model that comes out? I would think that a broken in 2010 Rockettech (be it slowpitch or fastpitch), with all the improvements that have been made on it, would out hit a broken in OG Rockettech.

This subject always mystifies me. The original RockeTech was designed anticipating the rule changes we were about to have mandated by ASA at the time. So the change from the original to the next generation was only to change the graphics and add the 2004 ASA certification badge. And yet that original black bat has a huge following that is convinced that the black bat with the 2000 ASA badge is better than the blue bat with the 2004 ASA badge. The magic would have to be either in the color or the bat.

Those original bats were anodized. The new bats are painted. the old bats had pins and the new bats have the beaded construction. The newest bats have been updated to include some of the technology we learned researching the MOI technology we learned in the TechZilla and NanoTek design projects that were active research projects at the time. The newest RockecTech actually tests higher within the rules than ever. But the one thing I know is that very often what makes a player think they can hit better is often more effective in getting better results than small technological changes that can be measured. I tell this to those that hold on to the older one is better than the new one opinion, "if she thinks it makes her hit better and she hits better, it's probably better."