Beating is a process in which a composite baseball or baseball bat is placed in a beating machine between plastic rollers in order to quickly break the bat. The rollers squeeze the bat in increased but controlled compression increments and then the bat rotates 20 to 25 revolutions per increment. They work the same way an old-fashioned buzzer washer from the 1890s did. I like to say that the wringer washer was the original bat winder machine.

Once a bat breaks, it will hit one more ball. There are scientific studies that state that the speed of the ball leaving the bat increases several miles per hour. It is a simple conclusion that speed translates into distance. In the game of baseball, the extra distance translates into base hits or even home runs over the fence.

How does this work

Composite bats are made from carbon fiber materials and special resins. When new, the bat is stiff and does not reach its breaking potential. Once the resins break between the fibers of the carbon fibers, the bat will have a springboard or springboard effect to that area.

This happens naturally over time when the bat hits the ball. After 500 to 1500 solid hits, the bats will start to reach their full potential.

Perpendicular Machinery

A perpendicular bat rolling machine is a machine where you insert the bat into the rollers at a 90 degree angle to the machine. You then move the bat back and forth, usually with a drive roller. Compress the bat in increments, removing the bat each time and rotating the barrel, then reinserting it and applying the same pressure. You must roll at least 8 points off the barrel in each increment, which means you must remove the bat a minimum of 4 times and rotate. If you compress to 4 increasing levels of compression, you will have reset 16 times.

A perpendicular machine will roll your bats, but you have to be careful, as you may end up leaving flat spots in the sweet spot of the bat.

If you won’t be rolling to many bats, then a perpendicular machine will serve you well.

Parallel Machinery

A parallel bar rolling machine is a machine that typically has 2 or 3 rolls. The barrel of the bat is placed in the machine in the same plane as the rollers. Then compress again in increasing increments, and then spin the bat with a drive roller for 20 to 25 revolutions. You will not need to remove the bat when parallel rolling. The downside to only parallel rolling is that you’re breaking up a larger section of the bat at one time.

So what are the bat rollers saying?

Bat swinging has progressed to the point of near perfection. The best rollers in the industry roll the bats both ways. They will roll perpendicular first, but will only roll at 50 to 75 percent of maximum rolling pressures. Again, they will do this in larger increments. They will then roll the bat in parallel, starting with the lowest pressure and rolling for 20 to 25 revolutions. They will increase the pressures in increments of 3 to 4 and repeat the revolutions. They will continue this process until they reach maximum pressure for the bat.

By rolling both ways, you’ll get the best spin on your bat and not have to worry about dead spots or breaking up too large an area at once. It is very important that you choose a parallel machine that can roll in both directions. By being able to roll both ways, you’ll be able to maximize the breaking potential of your bats quickly and easily.