Softball Bat Rolling Instructions

There is a lot of confusion as to what bat rolling actually is. For those that are unaware, rolling a bat is the process of using an industrial roller to break in a composite bat faster. Before, a composite bat may have taken 400-500 hits to break in, but now it can take just 15 minutes with a bat roller.

  1. Choosing a Bat Rolling Machine

    • A rolling machine is essentially two 6-7 inch rolling pins, with a machine holding it all together. The machine allows you to fit the rolling pins to the bat by tightening them until they form a snug fit with the barrel.

      Bat rollers are made out of a variety of materials, and all manufacturers claim theirs are the best. The truth is, all are mostly equal. What you are looking for is a roller that will roll your bat without leaving marks, or damaging the exterior of the bat. Hard rubber tends to be a popular material for these machines.

      Bat rollers come in parallel and perpendicular styles, but either will work. For the best results, you'll want to roll your bat in both styles of rollers so that you don't miss any spots.

      Parallel rollers generally have 6-7 inches of surface area, while most bats have a 9-10 inch barrel. It's much better for your bat if you use the perpendicular roller as well. If you skip the perpendicular roll, you aren't breaking in the entire sweet spot of your barrel.

    Using a Parallel Roller

    • Grab your composite bat, and insert it into the roller. Tighten the rolling pins until they form a snug fit with the sweet spot of your barrel. The "sweet spot" is loosely defined as the ideal area to hit the softball. On most bats, 1-2 inches from the end cap is a great area to start. Place the far end of the bat in the roller, with only 1-2 inches protruding from the end.

      Grip the handle and the end of the bat and start moving it up and down through the rollers. This should be a relatively tight squeeze, so if it's too easy, tighten the pins a bit more.

      After about five minutes of this, your bat should be ready to move on to the perpendicular machine.

    Using a Perpendicular Roller

    • Insert the bat into the perpendicular roller. Tighten the pins to form a snug fit with the barrel of your bat. This time, push and pull the bat through the roller, giving it a chance to heat up the spots that you missed with the parallel roller. Once again, it should be a tight squeeze. If it's not, tighten the pins.