What cold weather can to do a bat, besides a lot of reps (Townsquare media)
What cold weather can to do a bat, besides a lot of reps (Townsquare media)
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With a chance of snow in the forecast, and some wind compounding issues, area high schools are hoping to dodge the temps that can make it hard on equipment--aside from players.

   Did you know cold temps can ruin bats?

With temps hopefully hitting at least 45, or maybe close to 50 during the afternoons, area schools are holding their tryouts for softball and baseball. But the colder weather is not kind to equipment.

You may not realize it, but cold temps can significantly lead to the demise of baseball and softball bats. We're not talking the kind usually found in retail stores, although some of them are sold there. We're referring to the composite monsters that most players use these days.

They tend to be tempermental sometimes, it's the trade-off for added power. In the hands of a strong capable hitter, for example, the Easton Ghost Advance softball bat can add anywhere from 15 to 30 feet if it connects on the sweet spot.

Just what does cold weather do? Aside from being hard on the bats themselves, according to the website BatDigest.com (their blog) cold weather can make the materials more brittle, and makes the softball or baseballs themselves a lot harder.

A much harder ball can dent an aluminium bat, or crack a composit bat. Most bat manufacturers such as DiMarini, Easton, Rawlings and others consider temps below 60 degrees to be 'cold' weather!  Our daughter, who plays club softball, and hundreds of other baseball and softball players have played a lot of games in temps much colder than that., often inthe 50's. But sunshine helps warm things up even if temps in the 50's. But our recent weather has been ugly.

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Composite, lighter thin-walled bats (which have more pop) tend to crack, while aluminum bats rarely break, but they bend or dent.

When you consider such models as the Easton Ghost (the most widely used softball bat today) or the newer Ghost Advance 2022 can run anywhere from $399 to $499 retail, cold weather truly becomes an enemy. Fortunately, most club players are able to get their bats from vendors at wholesale, which drops anywhere from $100 to $180 off the retail price. And, manufacturers are pretty good about one-year warranties.

Let's hope Mother Nature warms things up quickly in the next few days!

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