The 2027 Easton Dub Darkside looks like it may have corrected one of the biggest complaints surrounding the previous Dub: structural durability.
But after watching these bats being hit, something else caught my attention.
Pieces of the Darkside graphic layer can visibly fly off the barrel at contact.
Easton intentionally designed the Darkside graphics to change as the bat is used. The silver/chrome outer layer gradually wears away to expose the red Darkside graphics underneath.
That part is intentional.
What concerns me is not that the graphics change.
It is the way portions of that outer layer can separate from the bat and become airborne immediately after contact.
That raises a question I think deserves serious consideration.
Could a defensive player momentarily mistake one of those flying pieces for the baseball?
I am not saying the Easton Dub Darkside has been proven to create a safety hazard. I have not seen testing that establishes that.
But baseball has already recognized that visual contrast between the bat and baseball can affect how quickly pitchers and fielders identify the ball.
So when visible material is leaving a bat at almost the exact moment the baseball is entering the field of play, I don't think the issue should be dismissed as simply cosmetic.
The 2027 Easton Dub Darkside Lineup
The Darkside is available in three drop weights:
2027 Easton Dub Darkside -10 EUT7DBDS10
2027 Easton Dub Darkside -8 EUT7DBDS8
2027 Easton Dub Darkside -5 EUT7DBDS5
Easton continues to use its double-barrel concept with the Darkside, and from what I've seen so far, the bat has retained much of what made the original Dub one of the most talked-about bats in USSSA baseball.
The barrel has a distinctive sound.
The sweet spot appears large.
The bat feels responsive.
And players seem to notice the performance almost immediately.
The Darkside Graphics Are Supposed to Change
This is important because the graphics coming off the Darkside should not automatically be treated as a paint defect.
Easton calls the technology DUBLVZN.
The outer chrome graphic layer is designed to gradually wear away through normal baseball contact, revealing red graphics underneath.
That means the changing appearance of the bat is intentional.
Easton also acknowledges that loose portions of the outer graphic layer can sometimes remain partially attached and says those loose flakes should be removed before play.
So the issue isn't whether the Darkside graphics are supposed to change.
They are.
The question is whether pieces of that graphic layer should be separating and visibly flying away from the bat during contact.
Those are two very different things.
You Can Actually See the Graphics Flying Off
This isn't something that requires looking closely at a still photograph.
You can see it happen in video.
During one Darkside durability test, pieces of the exterior layer repeatedly came off the bat during contact.
The tester stopped multiple times after seeing material separate from the barrel.
At one point, he described a large piece coming off.
In another video, a young hitter using a 30-inch, 20-ounce Darkside immediately noticed what was happening.
He pointed at the barrel and explained that the bat was becoming more red every time he hit with it.
That is exactly what Easton's graphic system is supposed to do.
But watching pieces actually leave the barrel made me look at the feature differently.
A coating gradually wearing thinner over hundreds of impacts is one thing.
A piece visibly separating at the instant the ball is hit is another.
Why the Flying Graphics Concern Me
Think about the play from the pitcher's or infielder's perspective.
The pitch is thrown.
The hitter swings.
Contact occurs.
The defensive player has a fraction of a second to identify the baseball, determine its direction and react.
Now introduce another object leaving the same general area at almost exactly the same time.
Could a piece of silver or chrome material separating from the barrel momentarily look like the baseball?
Could it cause even a fraction-of-a-second delay in recognizing the actual ball?
I don't know.
And I think that's the point.
This is something that could be tested rather than assumed.
I would like to see high-speed video positioned from a pitcher's or infielder's perspective while Darkside bats are being hit.
Track the baseball.
Track the pieces coming from the graphic layer.
Then determine whether those pieces ever enter the same visual field or travel in a way that could realistically interfere with a defender picking up the baseball.
Maybe testing shows there is absolutely no meaningful issue.
That would be good news.
But after seeing pieces fly away from the barrel, I think the question is legitimate.
Baseball Has Already Treated Ball Visibility as a Safety Issue
There is precedent for taking this seriously.
The NCAA previously adopted a rule requiring the barrel of a baseball bat to contrast with the baseball.
The concern was that a white baseball coming off a predominantly white bat could be more difficult for the pitcher and fielders to visually identify.
The NCAA Baseball Rules Committee specifically described the problem as a safety issue.
That rule doesn't prove that Darkside graphics create the same problem.
It doesn't.
A predominantly white bat and a small piece of graphic material flying off a barrel are different situations.
But the underlying principle is relevant:
The ability of defensive players to quickly distinguish the baseball from the bat and its surroundings matters.
That's why I think the Darkside deserves a closer look.
The Previous Easton Dub Had Real Durability Problems
The other part of the Darkside story is durability.
The previous Easton Dub was considered by many hitters to be one of the hottest bats in USSSA baseball.
It also developed a legitimate reputation for durability problems.
There are numerous examples of previous Dubs structurally cracking.
Those weren't simply cases of people confusing paint damage with broken composite.
Some bats genuinely failed.
That doesn't mean every previous Dub cracked, and it doesn't mean every size and drop experienced the same failure rate.
But there was enough evidence that I think it's fair to say durability became one of the major concerns surrounding the original Dub.
The previous Dub also had problems with the exterior paint or finish coming off.
Unlike the Darkside, that was not an intentional graphic feature.
If paint started separating from an older Dub, that was a quality and durability issue.
And even if the composite underneath had not failed, significant exterior damage could create another problem.
An umpire looking at a bat with large sections of paint missing or peeling could understandably question.
**Of course this can all be taken care of with a properly broken in bat before it hits the field.