Warm-up Bats
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Weighted on deck warm-up bats and other devices should be used with extreme caution. The five foot on-deck circle gives the next batter an opportunity to prepare for his turn at bat. It is located 13 feet behind home plate and 37 feet to the right or left.
The Bratt on-deck bat is shaped like a regular bottle bat. It has a red plastic coating from the trademark to the end of the 2 5/8 barrel. This bat weighs 4 pounds 1 ounce, and is 34 inches long. It is manufactured in Lynn, Massachusetts.
Several years ago, Louisville Slugger came out with a 'whip-o-warm-up' bat. The handle up to the trademark is made of wood and coated with rubber. From the Trademark to the end of the barrel there is solid rubber making the bat barrel very flexible, with whip like control. The bat weighs 5 pounds, is 33 inches long and has a 1 3/4 inch barrel.
On the market today, there is a 10 inch rubber and plastic weighted sleeve that fits over the bat barrel. However, it was not as well received as other products. A round rubber ring, or doughnut-type device weighing 4 1/2 pounds is still considered one of the best.
Before products were made specifically for on-deck use, I can remember that in the mid-30's our coach drilled a hole in the barrel end of a regular bat and filled it with lead. He then painted a wide rust colored (the only paint we had) stripe around the barrel with our school initials.
Today SSK, a Japanese sporting goods company, makes a warm-up bat of Japanese white ash, lead filled and painted two colors. One model weighs 40 ounces and is 33 inches in length.
X Bats features the log, a naturally weighted maple bat weighing as much as 44 ounces which give the player a much better solution for warming up due to it's normal bat shape and normal bat balance. It has always been a top seller among Major League Players.