Bat testing

belly43

Bored without softball
I’m from Illinois and we bat tested before every usssa and Gsl tournament. We went to Columbus,Ohio for worlds I was talking to a few teams from other states and asked how often they get tested they looked at me and laughed. There response was we have never been tested ever. Is Illinois the only place to test before every tournament? I felt as if I took a knife to a gun fight.
 

jbo911

Super Moderator
Staff member
When I first moved back to KY they tested every weekend. Last year they didn't test until Sunday. This year we only got tested when we made it to the final four. It's sad really. They're basically allowing shaved bats as long as you don't hit a pitcher.
 

Normy

Well-Known Member
Glad we test them here in Michigan. Seems like it's about a 50/50 mix which areas do it. Remind me not to move to Ohio...goofy Buckeye's anyway...
 

stillballin

The Veteran
never got tested at the big usssa tournaments in Tulsa or OKC...
but our ASA league tests every bat at the beginning of each season or when you bring a new bat... they put a sticker on the bats and keep a log... they also test if the other team or umpire feels your bat is hitting too many homeruns... this rule went into affect after a pitcher was taken out by a hot bat... hot bat was found to be shaved...
At districts they did not test each bat but the umpire inspected them before the games... and if you hit a homerun they would remove and test before you could use it again...
 

jbo911

Super Moderator
Staff member
never got tested at the big usssa tournaments in Tulsa or OKC...
but our ASA league tests every bat at the beginning of each season or when you bring a new bat... they put a sticker on the bats and keep a log... they also test if the other team or umpire feels your bat is hitting too many homeruns... this rule went into affect after a pitcher was taken out by a hot bat... hot bat was found to be shaved...
At districts they did not test each bat but the umpire inspected them before the games... and if you hit a homerun they would remove and test before you could use it again...
As dumb as that sounds, testing every bat after a homerun makes way more sense than testing no bats unless you hit a pitcher.
 

stillballin

The Veteran
As dumb as that sounds, testing every bat after a homerun makes way more sense than testing no bats unless you hit a pitcher.

it was the first time I seen this happen at a tournament... they had 4 fields going and waiting on your gamer to come back would feel like it would take forever... they would grab the bat and run to the office to test... sometime the bats never came back...
heard they did catch a few bats that tested extremely low even with the the non-linear exceptions...
it was the first time this certain complex hosted ASA districts and they had ASA officials from Oklahoma city running things..
state just had random testing...
 

jbo911

Super Moderator
Staff member
This notion that the associations have that players are going to police themselves even a little bit is ridiculous. We had a tournament with no testing this spring where a guy hit a pitcher and knocked the mask off his helmet. He was okay, but I heard the bat tested at 180. Even if that's an exaggeration, it failed (limit is 220 for those that don't know), and as soon as word got out everyone was like, he's had that bat for years. I'm sure it's not shaved. You know he's a good dude.

Good dude or not, this is a stupid scenario. People assume because UTrip set the limit at 220 that that's the level right before a bat cracks, and it's not. Bats are insanely hot at 220 and only continue to get more so until they crack. You can't convince me that he didn't know his bat was failing and you can't convince me that the associations don't have some culpability in creating this situation. They're the ones taking our sanction fees every year to make sure this doesn't happen, and they've specifically created it.
 

Hiltz

Built for comfort
People assume because UTrip set the limit at 220 that that's the level right before a bat cracks, and it's not. Bats are insanely hot at 220 and only continue to get more so until they crack.

Wasn't the whole point of changing USSSA testing and going to the thumbprint stamp in 2013 to eliminate bats breaking in past test limits? I remember the first wave of utrip bats with the new stamp; they'd break in, get good, then start to spiral and unravel. Now it's like a goddamn free-for-all.
 

Country469

Well-Known Member
No, the point was to charge more for contracts with bat namufs, because bats were lasting too long and sales were down. So they got together and said, thumb print is good for everyone. The bats being hotter did help to curb altering, as far as safety tho lololololololol.
 

TWmccoy

3DX Connoisseur
This notion that the associations have that players are going to police themselves even a little bit is ridiculous. We had a tournament with no testing this spring where a guy hit a pitcher and knocked the mask off his helmet. He was okay, but I heard the bat tested at 180. Even if that's an exaggeration, it failed (limit is 220 for those that don't know), and as soon as word got out everyone was like, he's had that bat for years. I'm sure it's not shaved. You know he's a good dude.

Good dude or not, this is a stupid scenario. People assume because UTrip set the limit at 220 that that's the level right before a bat cracks, and it's not. Bats are insanely hot at 220 and only continue to get more so until they crack. You can't convince me that he didn't know his bat was failing and you can't convince me that the associations don't have some culpability in creating this situation. They're the ones taking our sanction fees every year to make sure this doesn't happen, and they've specifically created it.

I guarantee if CO's USSSA state director tested every player's bat before the next tourny you'd have more fail than pass. Some are probably altered, but others have just been used so much that they're well below 220.

We used to have some periodic testing around here, but not anymore. Only bat testing I saw this year was at the Rocky Mtn. Shootout (conference event) and I think more bats failed than passed.
 

Country469

Well-Known Member
There is no reason to require a tester if you are using 52 cor balls, I don't blame anyone for that cost and time savings.
 

jbo911

Super Moderator
Staff member
I don't think anyone would care much about testing if they used those balls either. We hit rocks here. Probably more than your average number of bats failing here because we hit m's, play below 60 degrees often, and now basically no testing.

Oh yeah, and people still bp their gamers.
 

Country469

Well-Known Member
I pulled a NIW fireflex autism model buddy wolf jant out the other weekend for the big interstate thing here in Roanoke. maybe 300 swings on it with an isa 44 375. Tested at 200.
 

jbo911

Super Moderator
Staff member
That sounds about right. I'm currently on hold with Easton CS because they never sent me the RA# I requested online last wednesday. I wanted to ship everything at once, but I guess that's out the window. I'm not waiting on hold all day.
 

J2009

Boom !!!!!
I havent had a bat tested in like 4 years, they started to then but after taking so long they stopped, then went to only if the pitcher was hit and looked like he couldnt move fast enough, to not at all.
 

BigWhiffa

Underwear Researcher
haven't been tested for utrip on the eastern side on Iowa in 10 years of playing D/E state tournaments. in IL for ASA/utrip we are tested for everything.
 

Hiltz

Built for comfort
There is no reason to require a tester if you are using 52 cor balls, I don't blame anyone for that cost and time savings.

I pulled a NIW fireflex autism model buddy wolf jant out the other weekend for the big interstate thing here in Roanoke. maybe 300 swings on it with an isa 44 375. Tested at 200.

I have a pink/yellow FireFlex with about 100 swings on it, all with Worth Hot Dots. Covered in webbing and getting hotter, first time I've ever felt an Easton breaking in with .52's.

I've never even seen a compression tester in person, but I can guarantee that my FireFlex is dropping compression with every swing.
 

belly43

Bored without softball
I have a pink/yellow FireFlex with about 100 swings on it, all with Worth Hot Dots. Covered in webbing and getting hotter, first time I've ever felt an Easton breaking in with .52's.

I've never even seen a compression tester in person, but I can guarantee that my FireFlex is dropping compression with every swing.
Had this years baker 25 swings and it tested 220.
 

hitsone

Well-Known Member
Down in Mesa AZ the parks leaque collects all bats to be used in the league then compression tests them before the season. If passed they get a sticker. I failed they are returned and it is up to the owner to do with what he wants. As most players are in multiple leagues the failed bats keep getting used until they end up on ASA's banned list.
'17 My Flex passed again on a Monday but ended up on the Easton voluntarly banned list on the Thursday.
 

Normy

Well-Known Member
Down in Mesa AZ the parks leaque collects all bats to be used in the league then compression tests them before the season. If passed they get a sticker. I failed they are returned and it is up to the owner to do with what he wants. As most players are in multiple leagues the failed bats keep getting used until they end up on ASA's banned list.
'17 My Flex passed again on a Monday but ended up on the Easton voluntarly banned list on the Thursday.
Most of the "banned bat" list here are Easton's.
 

jbo911

Super Moderator
Staff member
Had this years baker 25 swings and it tested 220.
Do you play for belly's out of in? My Helmer 17 was"barely passing" at the Miken heroes tourney and it wasn't even remotely hot yet. All testers and all 220 bats aren't equal for sure.
 

TWmccoy

3DX Connoisseur
Do you play for belly's out of in? My Helmer 17 was"barely passing" at the Miken heroes tourney and it wasn't even remotely hot yet. All testers and all 220 bats aren't equal for sure.

Last time I saw bats tested there were two testers going. I agree that not all testers seem the same. One tester had a ton of bats failing while the other had very few.

FWIW, my '16 DC41 tested at about 260. I don't swing it much and the bat is ridiculously hot. My USSSA Salvo actually tested lower, but doesn't seem remotely as hot as the DC41.
 

D-ROCK13

Well-Known Member
I had a 14' Psycho fail at 180-205, in a half dozen places on the bat, and another guy recheck it with the same tester, and it passed at 235 everywhere we tested it. I've seen the tester itself be inconsistent for sure, but far more often, its the guy or gal doing the testing from my experience. We only got tested here if a deemed unplayable ball hit the pitcher, added nets last year, so no testing at all now.
 

Hiltz

Built for comfort
My Helmer 17 was"barely passing" at the Miken heroes tourney and it wasn't even remotely hot yet. All testers and all 220 bats aren't equal for sure.

My USSSA Salvo actually tested lower, but doesn't seem remotely as hot as the DC41.


This is my biggest complaint about compression testing; the test results don't directly correspond to batted ball speeds.

And you have bat manufacturers spreading misinformation by bragging about their compression results like there's an inverse relationship between compression and performance.
 

sscroggin

Yada Yada Yada
Is there any raw data that shows when a bat drops below 220 that it hits out of regulation? I remember an old article that tested shaved and rolled bats that eventually a bat performance decreases. I think compression testing is stupid. If the bat has the stamp it's good for the life of the bat.
 
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