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Post by bubba on Feb 7, 2007 14:57:35 GMT -8
Has anyone heard of damaging a catalyst bat from using it in cold temp. or from hitting anything but hard baseballs? Last year someone told me not to use it when it was below 60 and not to hit softy balls just regular hard baseballs.
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Post by Chris on Feb 7, 2007 15:05:12 GMT -8
Crash could tell you I think his teams been through like 5.
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Post by Greenie on Feb 7, 2007 15:19:26 GMT -8
You're not supposed to use it against a machine that throws the hard plastic balls. I don't know about the weather but we have been using ours with no prob.
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Post by bubba on Feb 7, 2007 15:23:18 GMT -8
Whats the deal on the rubber balls? What damage can they cause? Also I heard these type of bats are only good for a couple of seasons then they lose their pop any truth to that?
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Post by Chris on Feb 7, 2007 15:25:39 GMT -8
depends on how much you use it Bubba. If your son uses it then prolly just a couple of seasons as I know he's a hitter. If you're hitting with it I'd say it would last for ever.
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Post by Greenie on Feb 7, 2007 15:28:11 GMT -8
Chris should know about this. He still uses the original catalyst.
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Post by bubba on Feb 7, 2007 15:29:04 GMT -8
LOL. I'll have you know I hit a mean infield.
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Post by Chris on Feb 7, 2007 15:32:31 GMT -8
Seriously though Ron - Zach, Rickey, Jens and Nick R. all swung Jenson's Catalyst last season. I mean they beat that thing up and it still has pop. I know the get better once they get broken in.
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Post by bubba on Feb 7, 2007 15:39:51 GMT -8
Chris, what about the hard ball issue? I have a bucket of hollow and sponge filled practice balls I used for toss pitch and hitting off the T but now I'm worried about damaging the kids/Zach's bat.
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Post by Chris on Feb 7, 2007 15:59:38 GMT -8
They should be fine. I won't use the balls from a pitching machine. I'd check the catalyst warranty because if it does break you don't want to have to eat it.
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Post by Greenie on Feb 7, 2007 16:04:07 GMT -8
Chris..I just used the shaving cream on a couple of new gloves. I'll let you know how it works.
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Post by Mark on Feb 7, 2007 20:07:19 GMT -8
here is the deal with the bats.
if you use them in cold weather they dont flex very well and could crack, dent, ding, or outright break.
yes dimple balls could make it worse BUT, you have a warrantee that covers the bat for 1 year for normal wear and tear.
they say they dont cover machine hit balls BUT how do they know what you hit??
you might say awww but they leave a dimple mark. i would then say clean them off with hot water a rag and soap.
i have returned about 4 bats over the years and was never questioned about anything. i even hit one of metal chain link poles to dent it because it was an old OMAHA GOLD -3 bat and the warrantee was running out. they sent me back the new Omaha Blue bat. Louisville Slugger is good about their warranttees
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Post by crash23 on Feb 7, 2007 20:34:32 GMT -8
I only own (my son uses one Catalyst and it's held up fine, even in cold weather. The aluminum bats are much more likely to dent in cold weather compared to the composite bats. The Catalyst sure did sting the hell out of Brett in the cold weatrher, worse than any other bat he's swung. Another reason why bats are more likely to dent in cold weather is balls become more dense (think of an egg as it gets colder).
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Post by Mark on Feb 7, 2007 20:41:26 GMT -8
the metal is colder and cant flex as much as when it is warmer.
in cold weather it can nad/or will dent because the metal is harder.
in warmer weather the metal has flex chararcteristics it may dnet in on contact but it will immidiately within a fraction of a second go back to its place.
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Post by crash23 on Feb 8, 2007 8:41:11 GMT -8
From Demarini.com:
Q: How does cold weather affect bats?
A: Cold weather affects the ball, not the bat. A ball's core becomes harder in cold weather, causing the ball to dent the bat. Some players think that keeping a bat warm before hitting will prevent denting, but what they actually want to do is keep the ball above 60 degrees Farenheit. High-compression balls may also shorten the life of your bat, as well as team usage situations.
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